Is Boo too good to be true?

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Boo Weekley is a breath of hot air on the PGA Tour. He is golf's version of Hee-Haw. He's John Daly without the arrest record.

This slow-talking, deer-hunting, bass-fishing son of a pharmacist from a small town down in the panhandle of Florida is about as entertaining as it gets in this game.

While the rest of the cookie-cutter competitors on this tour live in a constant state of angst over minute aspects of their back swing, Boo Weekley is God's way of telling the golf world not to take itself so seriously.

After his second round here Friday at the Heritage, Weekley shrugged his shoulders and said, "I struggled a little bit off the tee. For some reason I ain't got a clue which way it's going."

An obvious understatement when you shoot 7-under-par 64. But that's Boo, the self-effacing country boy blessed with enough game and gab to fill a doublewide.

"I'm pretty talented at hitting the ball," he said in a drawl as comfortable as a front porch swing. "The Lord blessed me in that department."

Something he should be extremely thankful for. Because when asked what he'd be doing for a living otherwise, he said, "I'd be holding a shovel, probably, because I wasn't very good in school, neither."

Defending champ

In case you missed it, Boo Weekley won this tournament last year, beating Ernie Els in a Monday morning shootout after high winds canceled the traditional Sunday finish.

Which was fitting, because there's nothing traditional about Boo. That's why he's a cult hero to people in the gallery who whoop and holler when he plays through.

"It's always fun to be able to look out on the crowd and see all the people pulling for you and chanting your name," he said. "It's great to be able to come back here and say, 'Hey, I was defending champion at one time and might still be coming up, all depends on what happens.' "

All while he whittles his way around what many consider the tightest, toughest little golf course on tour.

"I feel this golf course sets up for my game," Weekley said. "Very similar to the golf course I grew up on, Tanglewood, back home."

Must have been a pretty good track considering three current tour pros (Boo Weekley, Bubba Watson and Heath Slocum) played together on the Milton High School Panthers golf team.

Refreshing repartee

At first it's easy to assume that Boo Weekley is too good to be true. Surely he's not as clueless as he sometimes seems.

Infamously, for instance, he was playing in match play and didn't know he could concede a short putt to his opponent. And he was brutally honest last week when he said he didn't know diddly about Augusta National or the history surrounding the Masters.

At the same time, Weekley's hometown humility is equally admirable. During Friday's round, when nobody was looking, he picked up a rake and smoothed a sand trap for his playing partner, Mark Calcavecchia.

"Calc had a foot problem," Weekley said. "I figured I'd help him out. I ain't too good to rake a bunker."

It's all refreshing repartee for golf scribes who kill for quotes other than, "Driver, 7-iron, two-putt from 20 feet."

Here's a guy who genuinely enjoys the juxtaposition of his life and livelihood.

"It's fun," Weekley said. "To be able to categorize yourself and say I get to play with the best in the world, it's an awesome feeling."

For us, too, Boo.

Thanks for being you.

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5598.