Kenny Perry Reveals He Quit Golf To Care For His Wife With Alzheimer's

In a heartfelt interview, Kenny Perry revealed he gave up playing professional golf in order to care for his ailing wife Sandy, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The 62-year-old turned pro in 1982 and picked up 14 PGA Tour wins as well as 10 Champions Tour titles but, with his wife’s condition deteriorating, hasn’t teed it up competitively since 2021.

Speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Perry said: “I'll let the world know... my wife's sick. I'm her caretaker and I'm going to take great care of her. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease. When I left the Tour, she could not even follow me on the golf course. I would chase her down going down the wrong hole. 

“I was at the Senior Open two years ago, and it was a 36-hole complex and she ended up going off on the other 18 holes. So I realised right then that it's time for me to do something else. And it's all good, she's happy as she can be, she's in great shape, she walks me to death, she's hyperactive. But poor thing, she just cannot remember anything.”

As the search for a cure continues, the former Ryder Cupper accepts that all they can do right now is try to slow the disease's progress but added that he hopes to join the cause and help others who find themselves in a similar situation in future.

“That’s probably one area I’ll start being a spokesman for,” he said. "I’ll start looking into that and how I can help other people who have the same condition. I’m trying to figure it out.

“I’ve been to every doctor in Nashville and there’s really not a cure for it, it’s just trying to slow it down. 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’d hate to see it where she can’t enjoy it.”