Maginnes: A country boy can indeed survive

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- There must have been 40 boats anchored in Calibogue Sound on Sunday afternoon as Boo Weekley cruised to victory for the second straight time at Harbour Town. They saluted the Verizon Heritage champion by blowing their air horns in unison and Boo acknowledged them with a wave as he made his way up to the 18th green.

Maginnes

The second win didn't require the dramatics of 2007 when he chipped in for par on the final two holes to hold off Ernie Els. The look of surprise that adorned Boo's face as he accepted the trophy and the tartan jacket a year ago was replaced by a look of joy and satisfaction Sunday.

"Any victory on the PGA TOUR is an honor but to do it again, well, that is really sweet," Boo said. And sweet it was for the thousands of fans on land and sea who greeted the two-time champ at the 18th hole with a chorus of 'boos" that had showered him at every green throughout the week.

There are certain players on the PGA TOUR whom you can never talk about or write about too much -- and since his victory a year ago, Boo's name has been added to that list along with Tiger, Phil and just a few others. In some ways, Boo may be replacing another player whose southern charm and outlandish lifestyle caught the imagination of golf fans years ago.

As John Daly's game has fallen on hard times, though, due to a myriad of injuries and failure to secure his exemption the last couple of years, Boo has laid claim to the allegiance of golf's working class.

Actually, laid claim is probably the wrong way to describe it. Boo is as reluctant a star as any player on the PGA TOUR. The TOUR has always made room for its homespun dating back to that boy who came out of the Virginia hills some 75 years ago to enter the conversation of greatest players of all time. At this point it would be unfair to the memory of Sam Snead to compare him to Boo in terms of career but they do share many off-course passions.

Boo has never made any bones about the fact that his true loves are hunting and fishing. In a conversation before he won his first Verizon Heritage, I asked Boo if he had brought his fishing poles to Hilton Head. He told me that he doesn't travel with them anymore because they were too much of a distraction. He wants to concentrate on golf when he is playing in a tournament. There is plenty of time for recreation when he is home in the Florida Panhandle.

Weekley's homegrown swing and creative short game were honed in Milton, Fla., where he saw every lie imaginable. (Getty Images)

On Thursday evening as the sun was setting and thousands of revelers had migrated to the harbor, Boo and his clan were eating dinner on the second story of the Quarterdeck. When some of the people in the throng noticed him, Boo raised his glass in acknowledgment but he didn't come down and join the fray.

"Too crowded down there," he would say the next day.

Jimmy Buffet once sang, "I don't want the fame that brings confusion, where people recognize you on a plane," and in many ways Boo is like that, too. Of course, you aren't likely to see Buffet or Boo in coach on a commercial flight any time soon.

Like the popular singer, Boo has become somewhat of a cult figure internationally. We like Boo because he reminds us that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things. In Boo's case, he has cultivated raw talent into an incredibly sophisticated golf game that can't be easily emulated or taught.

Compared to other TOUR players, his left hand is very strong, or on top of the handle. Consequently, he hits piercing shots that seek the flag. If you tried to teach this to another right-handed player he would spend an awful lot of time in the trees to the left. If someone had tried to teach Boo another way of playing, he would probably have never won more than the Milton Amateur.

The big question is how much success do we think Boo will have? I think the simple answer is -- as much as he wants. His unique talent is dwarfed only by his even more unique personality, and what a combination those two are when it comes to being a star.

But if it all goes away and Boo finds himself back in Florida looking for work we shouldn't worry because after all, as Hank Williams Jr., always told us, "a country boy can survive."