Boo Weekley

PRO GOLFER

On calling himself a redneck
People take redneck different ways. To me, I'm just a country boy who likes to fish and hunt—so I'm a redneck. What you see is what you get. It might not be what you want, but it's what you get.

On how he, Thomas Brent Weekley, got his nickname
It's from Yogi Bear and his sidekick, Boo Boo. That was my favorite cartoon growing up. I got the nickname when I was playing baseball—I was a really good player in high school.

On fishing
I've been fishing all my life, mostly freshwater. I grew up on the Blackwater River in Milton, Florida. I've caught 10-pound bass, two-pound brims, catfish. I'll fish for anything that bites. I have 25 to 30 reels.

On aspiring to retire early
I want to be home with my family. [Weekley and his wife, Karyn, have a son, Thomas Parker.] I'm going to have enough land where I can grow corn. I'll live off squirrel, deer, rabbit and coon. I have 160 acres where I live, in Jay, Florida. I want another 200 to 300 acres in Alabama. If I have the land paid for when I quit playing, that would be good enough.

On a career-changing layoff
I'd been working for three years at Monsanto as a heavy machinery operator when the layoffs were announced. This was about 12 years ago when I was in my early 20s, and it came down to me and a guy who had been at the plant for 17 years. So I just left. That's when I decided to get serious about golf.

A winner at Hilton Head last month, the PGA's proudest country boy is eighth in the FedEx Cup standings.

PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY