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Two-time Ryder Cup player Kenny Perry revealed he has retired from professional golf to care for his wife, who has Alzheimer’s.
Perry, 62, has not featured on the PGA Tour Champions since 2021.
In an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, the 14-time tour winner said he decided to step away when Sandy, his wife of more than 40 years, was no longer able to follow him on the course.
“I’ll let the world know: my wife’s sick,” Perry said. “I’m her caretaker. And I’m going to take great care of her. Alzheimer’s is this terrible disease.”
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“I would chase her down, going down the wrong hole,” he added, referring to the period when he realised Sandy could no longer accompany him on tour.
“At the US Senior Open two years ago it was a 36-hole complex, and she ended up going off on the other 18 holes.
"I realized right then it was time for me to do something else."
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) January 4, 2023
Kenny Perry's wife, Sandy, is battling Alzheimer's, with Kenny right by her side. He talks about it with BK & John on Katrek & Maginnes On Tap. Hear the full interview on the SXM App.@bkatrek | @johnmaginnes pic.twitter.com/thK0UOreWQ
“I realised right then it’s time for me to do something else. And it’s all good; she’s happy.”
Perry, who represented the US at the 2004 and 2008 Ryder Cups, revealed Sandy remains active and “walks him to death”.
He also wants to dedicate his time to finding a cure for the disease. Currently there are only treatments which can slow its progression.
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“I’ll probably start being a spokesman,” Perry said. “I’ll probably start looking into more of that and help other people who have the same conditions I’m looking into. I’m trying to figure it out.
“That’s all I want to do, so she’ll know her grandkids and know me and just enjoy the rest of her life. We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and I hate to see it where she can’t enjoy it. You know, it’s pretty sad.”
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