WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Boo Weekley became a golf fan favorite in 2005 and 2006 at a Nationwide Tour event in West Virginia.

He hopes the magic he worked at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va., resurfaces this week on his first trip back to the Mountain State. Weekley's two-week break from the PGA Tour is over and he's here to play in The Greenbrier Classic. The $6 million FedExCup event begins Thursday on the renovated par-70 Old White course at The Greenbrier Resort.

Weekley took his first look at Old White after a Tuesday news conference.

Actually, Weekley is a fan favorite everywhere. He's pro golf's common man, a good-old-boy from the Florida Panhandle, who interacts with spectators and always says what he thinks.

"I mean, I hope that's how they look at it," Weekley said of his fan appeal. "That'll be great. I just see myself as a common person one way or another. The Lord's blessed me to give me the talent to come out here and play the game and be able to interact with people. That's what it's about.

"You don't want to pay whatever you pay, $65, $70 dollars to come out here and watch guys play and you can't say nothing to 'em or you can't talk to 'em. The way I look at it, they're paying my bills, you know. Every person that comes out here buys a diaper for my little kid."

On the flight in, Weekley got to thinking how the mountains reminded him of the setting in Bridgeport.

"Flying in, it looked like the same as it was whereverI was over there on the other side. What's the name of the place?"

PGA media official John Bush told Weekley it was near Clarksburg.

"Yeah, Clarksburg. It's pretty. Pretty terrain around here. This hotel (Greenbrier) is amazing. It's unreal how big this place is. You could get lost in it. It's like going to the White House. You get into a hallway and you can walk forever. It's neat to be back here. I hope I play well for the fans and have a good time with them."

The luxurious resort and Old White have their history. C.B. White and Seth Raynor did the original Old White (1914) and Lester George has come in twice since 2002 to do renovations to restore the old look and prepare the course for this tournament. The Greenbrier was the longtime home to legendary pro Sam Snead. And there's the famous bunker, an underground relocation facility for Congress members during nuclear attack that remained top secret for 30 years. Visitors can take tours these days.

Weekley, though, would be the first to say he's not totally up to date on the history of The Greenbrier. His answers in the news conference drew several chuckles.

On the underground bunker:

"You mean bunkers like on the course?," Weekley asked. "I mean I haven't played the golf course yet, so I don't know nothing about it. I actually sat there last night when I was watching TV before I fell back asleep, and I was watching a little bit of history of where the bunker is and how they went through, if you had radiation, had these little showers and stuff.

"I was like, wow, they could do that in the locker room down there. It would be perfect. Don't have to wait on everybody. Just walk through. But it's pretty neat to know a lot of the history that went in behind that bunker. I mean, I'd like to learn a little more about it, but right now I want to focus on golf. If I miss the cut or something I might go check it out."

Wednesday is Sam Snead Day at The Greenbrier. To the fans that will mean a lot. To Weekley, it's just another day.

"Tell you the truth, I didn't know Sam Snead was up here until last week," he said. "I didn't know this was the place where he played at. I don't do much with the history of golf. I don't keep up with it. I just play the game. When I'm done, I'm done.

"I didn't know Carl Pettersson won (RBC Canadian Open) until I read the paper on the airplane yesterday. I mean, I ain't trying to be rude to Mr. Snead or nothing. Looks like he's done a pretty good job around this place. Look how big it is. I think he's brought in a lot of different characters and things to the place, which makes it great. It meant a lot to him for him to do all this, so it has to mean something for the rest of us."

Weekley, runner-up at Pete Dye in 2006 in a playoff loss, has two PGA TOUR wins, both at the Verizon Heritage. He also played on the victorious U.S. team in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Louisville. He has been off of late, but the two-week break and return to the Mountain State might be the right setting for this outdoorsman to get things going again.

"Yes, this might be a good place," he said. "I mean, you know, I might have to get my compass out to find my way back to the golf course and where I'm staying at up there. I come out of my motel room, and I done got lost three times. I had to call my agent. How the hell do I get where I'm going? He says, 'just try to get downstairs.' I'm like well where is the elevator at? I couldn't find that. I done made a wrong turn.

"This is a big place. I'm hoping that when I come out that I'll be able to play the game the way I know how to play. Hopefully I can get jump-started again because this would be a great place to get it jump-started at. I feel like I could fit in here, minus the White House (hotel) up the hill there."

AP Video