PHOTO BY ANNA PENA, POST PHX

Purdy Darn Impressive

If there were a Parrothead Golf Association, Ted Purdy would probably be on the board of directors, considering he lists Jimmy Buffett as a hero in his PGA profile.

Being a fan of Buffett is something Ted has in common with a lot of people on the planet, but there’s something else about the Scottsdale resident and up-and-coming star that only a handful of people can relate to. He has beaten Tiger Woods in golf. Not in a video game, but on a real golf course.

“I beat Tiger, I think four times out of 4000, but I have beaten Tiger,” Ted told POST. Purdy actually grew up playing against Woods in junior tournaments around the country, has competed against him in college when Tiger was at Stanford and Ted was at the University of Arizona, and of course on the PGA Tour, so 4000 rounds against the world’s greatest player might not be much of an exaggeration.

Ted grew up in Moon Valley, Arizona, and if you’re looking for an early sign that a future as a pro golfer might be on the horizon, consider this — the school bus used to pick him up and drop him off at the driving range. “I would hand my clubs to the range attendant, go to school, then come back and hit more balls.” The practice most definitely paid off, as Ted is into his 12th year as a professional golfer, with stops on the Asian, Nationwide and PGA tours.

In 2005, Ted earned his first PGA tour win with a one-shot victory at the Byron Nelson Championship. With that win under his belt, Ted was invited to play the Masters at Augusta National for the very first time. “My first year I played it, I hated it. I thought it was the worst course I had ever played. It was long, it was hard, it was hilly. I thought it was terrible.” A year later, Ted found the legendary track to be more to his liking, and obviously would someday like to add an odd-looking green blazer to his wardrobe. “I played it in 2006, now it’s my favorite tournament. I have to find a way to beat that sucker.”

Off the course, Ted does even more good things than he does on it. He stays busy when he isn’t traveling to the next PGA stop by helping underprivileged youth in the Phoenix area through his foundation, The Ted Purdy Foundation, which works closely with A Stepping Stone Foundation to help children prepare for the elementary school experience. Each year, Ted finances an impressive and star-studded charitable golf tournament, with 100 percent of all proceeds going to support A Stepping Stone Foundation. “I look at this as an opportunity to give back to the community, and I’m thankful to have that.”

His involvement has made an unbelievable difference. The tournament had never raised more than $5,000 before Ted and his wife Arlene got involved, and to give you an example of power of Ted’s rolodex, and his ability to get his friends involved, the event in November of 2006 raised over $100,000. It’s understandable that Ted’s favorite week on the tour is the FBR Open at The TPC of Scottsdale, and he recently purchased a skybox on the course for his friends and family to hang out on the infamous 16th hole. “It’s so fun. I went to the U of A (University of Arizona), so I get heckled a lot by the Arizona State guys. I’ll miss a putt and they’ll yell, ‘If you went to ASU, you would have made that!’” There are a lot of PGA players that, dare we say, don’t deal with the good-natured heckling very well, but the laid-back Purdy is one of the easiest-going, most personable players on the PGA Tour. He knows how lucky he is to be making a very good living playing a game that he has loved his entire life. “The game of golf really brings out your personality, good or bad.” Ted Purdy is one of hundreds of professional athletes who call the Valley home. But you’d be hard-pressed to find one as personable and adamant about making a difference in the community as he is. Oh, and there is that other thing that separates him from just about everyone else who’s laced up a pair of golf shoes. He has beaten Tiger Woods.