Golfer Kenny Perry taking new turn after Valhalla

Kenny Perry has no trouble teeing off. He is fine on the fairways, sure on the greens and even at ease in the rough if the footing is flat.

Hills, however, are harder.

"What I've noticed on uneven lies, like if I'm on a downslope or one leg's higher, my knees give out on a golf shot," Kentucky's foremost golfer said Tuesday afternoon. "I can't support my swing anymore on uneven lies.''

With two knee surgeries behind him and two grandchildren to chase, with persistent hip problems, chipping concerns and his 54th birthday bearing down as if Bubba Watson had scalded it with his 3-iron, Perry has picked August's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club for his formal farewell to all-comers competition.

Perry will continue to play among the AARP-eligibles of the Champions Tour, but he's leaving the regular tour to the young and the relentless. Having earned nearly $32 million on golf's primary circuit, the Franklin-based pro will forsake some of his exemptions to concentrate on age-group competition.

His game remains good, but he has grown less comfortable with the grind.

"I still think I could be competitive out there if I was fully committed," Perry said before a practice round at Valhalla. "(But) The PGA Tour is the ultimate tour. You've got to practice and practice and practice. I don't practice like I used to. My body will not allow me to practice."

Among the beauties of competitive golf are that a career arc can span decades, that the end is seldom abrupt and that sometimes the end is not really the end. To date, Perry's transition from the PGA Tour to the Champions Tour has been gradual, graceful and extraordinarily profitable. If his knees and his hip weren't telling him it was time to make the switch permanent, Perry's accountant surely would have suggested it.

Since 2011, Perry has competed in 25 events without a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour. During that same span, he has won six tournaments on the Champions Tour, has finished second six other times and has earned more than 16 times as much prize money as he made on the PGA Tour during the same period.

On the right day, on the right course, Perry remains formidable. Last Saturday, at the U.S. Open, Perry made eagle from the rough on the 14th hole at Pinehurst No. 2 — as long a shot, he said, as he has ever holed. Sunday, he finished the tournament tied for 28th with, among others, Phil Mickelson. Yet why continue to compete as a geezer if you can qualify as a young gun in some other sphere? Why court aggravation if your alternative is applause?

"I don't feel the pressure (now)," Perry said. "I don't put it on myself as much as I used to. When I compete now, I do the best I can do that day, and when that round's over it's gone. Used to, I would carry it with me — the load, the burden. ... I was just in a foul mood. To let it go, I think that's been a big help to me. It's taken me a long time to figure it out and made golf a lot more enjoyable."

When Perry returns to Valhalla for the year's last major championship, it will be with vivid memories and managed expectations. He lost a playoff for the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla, returned as part of America's triumphant 2008 Ryder Cup team, and will compete this time thanks to a special invitation from the PGA of America.

"I've had the highs and lows here at Valhalla — from the ultimate defeat to the greatest victory," Perry said. "I'll never forget my dad coming up on the green when I beat Henrik Stenson (in a Sunday's singles match in 2008). My dad was 85 years old. He had his bib overalls on and cigars. He gave me a big hug.

"To me, this is it. . ... This place is probably No. 1 in my heart when I set foot on the property."

It is, as such, a good place for Perry to make his exit. Particularly since he's not really going away.

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, by email at tsullivan@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @TimSullivan714.