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By DAVID CLIMER
Senior Writer

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — How's this for golfing irony: Kenny Perry had to retreat to the raw-nerve setting of the U.S. Open just to get a good night's sleep.

That's what happens when you win back-to-back tournaments on the PGA Tour and then spend a week back home in tiny Franklin, Ky.

Ah, the trappings of fame.

''I had a week off, and I was pretty swamped by interviews and people calling me,'' Perry said after a tour of Olympia Fields Country Club. ''I really hadn't had a chance to catch my breath.

''I told my caddie I had to come back to work to even get a good night's sleep.''

This is a dramatic reversal of fortune for one of pro golf's true nice guys. By his own assessment, he has ''flown under the radar out here'' for all but a few shining moments in his 17-year career as a touring professional. He has made a lot of money, won a few tournaments and impressed other players with an even-keel approach to the game.

''I've had a good career, nothing fantastic,'' he says.

And then he set the golf world on its ear by winning on consecutive weeks. While most of us were focusing on all things Annika, Perry dissected the revered Colonial Country Club with a third-round 61 on his way to victory. Then he crashed the party at the Memorial.

Suddenly, he was $1.8 million richer and was proclaimed the hottest player in the game entering the Open. Everybody wanted a piece of Kenny Perry. Even after retreating to Small Town, USA, he couldn't escape the requests for interviews and photo sessions from the national media.

There is even talk of a Kenny Perry Day.

''I win back-to-back tournaments and it's like the whole world changed,'' he said.

Mr. Nice Guy had become Mr. Big Deal. Except in his own mind.

''I've known him for 34 years, and he hasn't changed,'' said John Jackson, golf shop manager at Country Creek Golf Course, which Perry co-owns. ''Most people would be affected by the money and the fame, but not Kenny.

''He's the same guy now that he was before he won those two tournaments.''

But he certainly is being treated differently as he prepares for the first round of the U.S. Open tomorrow. Normally, Perry plays practice rounds in relative solitude. Yesterday, his tour of Olympia Fields was observed by a sizable gallery.

And his fellow pros have noticed. The guy with an unorthodox swing — he picks up the club abruptly on his backswing — is being mentioned as a serious threat to win the Open.

''What he's done the last couple of weeks has been incredible,'' two-time Open champion Ernie Els said.

''He's obviously hot, he's playing great, and I think this golf course suits him.''

Maybe. But the U.S. Open never has suited Perry's game. He has played in six, missed the cut twice and owns a best finish of a tie for 25th in 1993.

He has broken 70 only once in the Open.

Too, he is forever shadowed by the 1997 PGA Championship at Valhalla. There, he double-bogeyed the final hole and then butchered the first playoff hole to lose to Mark Brooks.

He has only one other top-10 finish in a major.

''When you put a lot of pressure on yourself and you cannot relax and you're so concerned about the moment ... I don't perform very well in those situations,'' he said.

''I've not performed very well in the majors, except for that one year in the PGA. I've never played well in an Open. I put too much pressure on myself. I'm going to enjoy it this year.''

As he is talking, you get the sense that Kenny Perry is at peace with himself and his golf game.

Maybe it's the recent success. Maybe it's the financial security.

Or maybe it's the trains that occasionally buzz within a couple of hundreds yards of the first tee at Olympia Fields.

''We have tracks that run not far from my house,'' he says. ''It immediately reminded me of home. And that's a good thing.''

Meanwhile, back home in Franklin, Ky., things are different. Jackson has noticed more phone calls and more traffic in the golf shop at Country Creek.

People who used to speed by on I-65 now make tee times because of Perry's association with the course.

''We're selling a lot of logo shirts,'' Jackson said.

Ah, the spoils of victory.

David Climer is a senior writer and columnist for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 259-8020 or by e-mail at dclimer@tennessean.com.