Boo Weekley hopes Insperity Invitational will give his fledgling senior career a boost

Life on PGA Tour Champions is not exactly what Boo Weekley envisioned when he joined the rookie class of 2023 in July, from travel arrangements to fellow players’ behavior.

As he prepares for this weekend’s Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Weekley is still learning the ropes of the senior circuit, for ages 50 and up.

At one tournament last year, the three-time PGA Tour winner booked a hotel on his own. But the reservation was made for the wrong state.

“I had to hire my (travel) agent back,” said Weekley, who is one of golf’s great characters and known for his Happy Gilmore impression at the 2008 Ryder Cup. “I stayed lost out there. Half the time I was looking for a fishing hole or something to hunt.”

Weekley, who possesses an aw-shucks demeanor, also did not anticipate the seriousness of some senior players in what is typically regarded as a laid-back tour, one hardly as intense as the PGA Tour, which Weekley played regularly from 2001-2019, accumulating more than $15 million over 319 starts. He won the RBC Heritage in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008. His other PGA Tour victory was the 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

“We had a blast out there (on the PGA Tour), but it was a cutthroat deal,” Weekley, 50, said. “Maybe they didn’t party like I like to party. Coming back to see them now, I’m thinking maybe they have calmed down a bit. Maybe when they get through playing, they will be in the bar wanting to have a soda pop (alcoholic beverage). No. They are on the range, on the putting green and in the bunker. I’m like, what are you doing? Let’s go have a beer.”

Weekley said going through a divorce was one of the motivating factors in his joining PGA Tour Champions, where the 6-foot, 210-pounder is reconnecting with former playing partners.

Weekley is one of 78 players who will be teeing off Friday-Sunday in the 21st edition of the Insperity Invitational, presented by UnitedHealthcare. The field includes six World Golf Hall of Famers — Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Other notables competing in the 54-hole stroke-play event with no cut are two-time defending champion Steven Alker, four-time Insperity winner Bernard Langer, John Daly, Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, David Toms, David Duval, Jeff Maggert, Mike Weir and Larry Mize. The winner receives $405,000 of the $2.7 million purse.

The Insperity will be Langer’s 342nd start on the senior tour, but his first in three months. He had surgery one day after tearing his left Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on Feb. 1.

Langer, 66, has accumulated 28 of his PGA Tour Champions-record 46 titles since his 57th birthday, and 13 of his victories have come since he turned 60. He has won four times since turning 64.

“Statistically, they say guys win most tournaments from age 50 to 55 (on PGA Tour Champions), then drop off,” Langer said. “I’m trying to continue to prove them wrong.

“This tournament has a special place in my heart. It was my first victory (on this tour) in 2007, and it is a fantastic event all around. I am looking forward to making my return to competition in The Woodlands.”

Also returning for Insperity weekend on Saturday is Folds of Honor Greats of Golf, a nine-hole scramble. Tom Watson will join the featured grouping and play in a fivesome with Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Annika Sorenstam. Jack Nicklaus will be honorary captain and is expected to contribute only on the greens.

After four years at Augusta Pines Golf Club in Spring, the Insperity since 2008 has been played at The Woodlands Country Club Tournament Course, former home of the Houston Open on the PGA Tour. The Tournament Course is mature, tree-lined and not short on water hazards.

“The Woodlands is unbelievable. They have hosted this event for so long, so I’m always excited to play here,” Els said. “You have to manage your ball carefully. The par 5s are scoring holes, but you’ve got to read the wind. It is a great test, and I am looking forward to getting back out there.”

The Tournament Course is where Weekley advanced in the second stage of qualifying to earn PGA Tour status. It was the first time he had made it through the second stage of Q-school.

“I have a lot of good memories here,” said Weekley, who turned professional in 1997. “And then playing in tournaments that really mean something, and you’re trying to get your life together.”

Weekley was introduced to golf because he ran out of sports, having played soccer, football, basketball and baseball as a youth.

“In every one of them, I either tore something, broke something or lost something,” Weekley said. “I figured, why not play golf? It’s not like I can hurt somebody. I’m left-handed, so I started playing golf left-handed.”

Before finding success on the regular PGA Tour, Weekley grinded on mini-tours for five years, traveling in his 1994 pickup truck as he chased his golf dream. He earned his PGA Tour card in 2002.

It was at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Club in Louisville where Weekley shot to prominence, winning his individual match 4 and 2 over Oliver Wilson. Weekley gained international attention that Sunday in horse racing country when on the first fairway, with driver between his legs, he imitated galloping a horse and whipping it. His antics helped ignite a rally that led the U.S. to a commanding 16½-11½ victory over the European team.

Weekley struggled with injuries toward the end of his PGA Tour career. He overcame cancer in his right shoulder in 2019, undergoing surgery to remove carcinoma cells and a cyst that had filled with fluid.

In leading up to his seniors debut last year, Weekley played eight Korn Ferry Tour events, making only one cut. PGA Tour Champions has been a bit of a struggle as well. 

In seven events in 2024, Weekley has only one top-25 finish, a share of 12th in the Invited Celebrity Classic two weeks ago. He is coming off a share of 35th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Duluth, Ga., a tournament won by Stephen Ames this past Sunday.

Weekley is 54th in Charles Schwab Cup points. The top 72 make the playoffs.