Final round: Perry finally able to look towards Valhalla
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- Yes, he'd hoisted the unique silver trophy with that Flying Goddess of a hood ornament on top. He'd posed for pictures and acknowledged the cheers of the crowd.
When Kenny Perry finally settled into the leather chair in the interview room, though, he was having trouble accepting the fact that he had just won the Buick Open for the second time in his career.
"I still can't believe it," he said, shaking his head. "I feel like I need to go make a birdie out there to win this tournament."
Perry didn't have that luxury, though. He had put the finishing touches on a round of 66 that left him tied for the lead at 19 under and retreated to the range. What would happen next was out of his control.
Turns out his second victory of the season rested on the putters of Woody Austin and Bubba Watson, playing in the final two groups of the day. And when Austin three-putted for bogey and Watson couldn't birdie the 72nd hole to tie, Perry could start the celebration, albeit slightly delayed.
The victory was the 11th of Perry's workmanlike career. And as important as the $900,000 he earned were the Ryder Cup points that came with the title and lifted him to fourth in the standings for the U.S. Team.
Everything for Perry this year has been about making Paul Azinger's squad to play in his native Kentucky. Every hour he spent on the range. Every minute on the putting green. All the birdies and bogeys he'd made and scorecards he'd signed.
Perry wants to play for America at Valhalla because the course owes him one. He had the opportunity for a Cinderfella story, but he lost the 1996 PGA Championship there in a playoff to Mark Brooks. He wants another chance to play at home.
"(I) just feel like I needed to go back there," Perry said. "I want to go back, end of my career; it's the icing on the cake for me to be able to play at my age. I'll be 48 when it comes, and just in front of my home folks, just something I wanted to do."
| 4 | Number of top-10 PGA TOUR finishes, including two wins, for Perry in a 41-day stretch dating back to May 18. |
| 25 | Tournament-leading number of birdies made Perry at Warwick Hills. |
If he had a hard time believing he won the Buick Open on Sunday, what about locking up that Ryder Cup berth? Perry says it may not sink in that he'll be playing on his second team until he puts on the Stars and Stripes in September.
After all, the last two months have been nothing if not a whirlwind ride for the man who will turn 48 on the Sunday of the PGA Championship.
Perry had a chance to win THE PLAYERS Championship before he faltered with an 81 in the final round. He came back the next week and lost to Ryuji Imada in a playoff at the AT&T Classic, then won his third Memorial Tournament two weeks later.
And what about Sunday's heroics? Perry came from three strokes off the pace to win for the eighth time since turning 40. He came up with the defining shot of the tournament when he slam-dunked a bunker shot for eagle at the par-4 14th hole.
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PERRY'S WIN A CLOSE CALL WITH WATSON, PERRY RIGHT BEHIND
GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) -- Kentucky, Kenny Perry is coming home.
Perry shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Buick Open by a stroke at 19 under, likely locking up a spot on the Ryder Cup team that will face Europe at Valhalla about 40 miles from his birthplace.
"I'm ecstatic," he said. "It really won't sink in until I'm actually putting on the red, white and blue."
Perry was amazed he won at Warwick Hills for a second time because Woody Austin closed with consecutive bogeys to blow the tournament and Bubba Watson just missed a 12-footer that would've forced a playoff.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"My eyes were blurry. I was nervous." -- Bubba Watson, on missing the 12-footer on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff with Kenny Perry
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ROLLINS BREAKS TOP-10 DROUGHT WITH 65
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
John Rollins could be excused for having a sense of déjà vu on Sunday at the Buick Open.
A year ago, he'd made the cut at Warwick Hills on the number, then shot 10 under on the weekend to finish in a tie for fifth. Rollins had a little more breathing room through two rounds this year, but the end result was strikingly similar after Sunday's 65.
"It's just that kind of golf course," he explained. "If you get it going, you can kind of just make a charge and then the birdies can just come as many as you want. They just seem to keep going in."
When Rollins finished his round of 7 under he was just one stroke off the lead. Trouble was, the leaders still had 14 holes to play on a generous golf course that was handing out birdies with regularity.
Still, Rollins couldn't be too disappointed with his first top-10 of the season.
His round included eight birdies, including a bomb of a 37-footer on the sixth hole to get him started. Of course, he gave the stroke back with a bogey on the par-5 seventh, but birdies on the next three holes got Rollins back on track.
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AS HIS PLAY IMPROVES, SO DOES NAME PRONUNCIATION
Kevin Streelman is definitely making a name for himself during his rookie season on the PGA TOUR.
He held the first-round lead at Torrey Pines during the U.S. Open three weeks ago -- "the highlight of my career so far," Streelman said -- and he followed that with tie for 12th at the Travelers Championship.
"I definitely am a lot more comfortable out here than I was in the first two or three months of the year," said the 2001 Duke grad, who tied for 14th at Warwick Hills after shooting 66 on Sunday. "It's a process."
Fans have embraced him as well.
"I heard Streelman a couple of times," he said. "They were saying 'Steelman' and now they have the 'Str' in there.
"It's just fun. (My) game feels like it's progressing on a little better each week. I'm going to go to one more now and play Tiger's even and take the week off after that. (I am) looking forward to that break and (I) feel like I'm playing well right now."
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GLOVER'S SIX-SHOOTER
Lucas Glover earned a lot of money over the final seven holes. He finished with six birdies and a par for a 67 that moved him all the way into a tie for seventh.
It was Glover's best finish since the Verizon Heritage in April, where he also finished tied for seventh. He made only one bogey over the final 27 holes.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO QUALIFY FOR ROYAL BIRKDALE
A total of 45 players who competed in the Buick Open this week are entered in Monday's 36-hole British Open qualifiers at two Detroit-area courses. A total of six spots are available at each venue.
The field of 46 at Dearborn Country Club includes Davis Love III, Paul Goydos, Heath Slocum, Kevin Streelman, Jesper Parnevik, Parker McLachlin, Steve Marino, Bob Estes and Justin Hicks, who won the Nationwide Tour's Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung on Sunday.
A total of 51 players are competing at TPC Michigan. Among those entered are Bubba Watson, who tied for second at Warwick Hills on Sunday; 2007 Buick Open champ Brian Bateman and John Rollins and Robert Garrigus, who each shot 67s in the final round.
There are several other ways for a player to get to Royal Birkdale, though.
The two players not otherwise exempt who made the most money in THE PLAYERS Championship and the five co-sponsored and approved events leading up to and including the AT&T National will make the field.
Paul Goydos currently leads the list with $1.060 million. U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate, who withdrew from the qualifier due to fatigue, is second with $865,280 while Briny Baird, who tied for 12th at Warwick Hills is third with $619,250.
In addition, the leading player not otherwise exempt among the top 10 at the AT&T National and at the John Deere Classic also will gain a spot in the British Open.
"I need to take a couple of days (off)," Mediate, who wants to be rested for AT&T National, said. "I really want to play and hope I get in on the money list. I love that type of golf. ... If I play good next week, I'll get in."
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| Woody Austin made a huge step towards a spot on the American team at Valhalla this fall: | ||||||||||||||||
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