Perry Wins Colonial in Record-Tying Fashion

Kenny Perry shot a modest round of 69 on Sunday to claim his second victory at the Bank of America Colonial. He won it two years ago and set the tournament record by posting a winning score of -19. This time around, Perry also finished at -19 to tie his own record. He was well on his way to setting a new tournament record, but a double bogey at the 17th hole derailed that. He also holds the 36-hole and 54-hole scoring records at Colonial. The win was Perry’s second of 2005. He won the Bay Hill Invitational back in March.

Perry didn’t win this tournament in close fashion either. The nearest competitor ended up being Billy Mayfair. Mayfair shot a 69 on Sunday to finish at -12, an amazing seven shots behind Perry! The margin of victory is the largest on the PGA Tour this year. Kenny Perry dominated the tournament from Friday afternoon until the end. He had one bogey in the opening round, and he had the double bogey on the 17th today. Those were the only blemishes on his scorecard all week.

The battle on Sunday definitely wasn’t for first place. That prize seemed to be handed out before the players showed up for the final round. However, the race for second place was very interesting. There were numerous players who had a shot to finish in the number two spot. Mayfair played just well enough to hold the others off and claim his best finish in over four years.

There was a three-way tie for third place that included Joe Durant, David Toms, and Peter Lonard. Toms, who has struggled as of late, had his best finish since winning the Accenture Match Play Championship in February. He will be heading into the FedEx St. Jude Classic next week as the defending champion. Lonard, who won the MCI Heritage earlier this year, had missed his previous two cuts before his tie for third this weekend.

A host of players finished in a tie for sixth at -10. Tim Petrovic, who won the Zurich Classic a few weeks ago, was among the players that finished in this group. He shot a 64 on Sunday, which was good enough for the low round of the day. Justin Rose and Tom Purtzer also shot 64s in the final round. Other notables that finished in a tie for sixth include 2004 European Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer, Rory Sabbatini, and Aaron Baddeley.

Rookie D.J. Trahan and Geoff Ogilvy both came into Sunday in a tie for seventh place. When all the dust had cleared on the final round, they found themselves in a tie for 38th. Trahan and Ogilvy shot 75 on Sunday to drop way down the leaderboard. Other guys who fell off the pace in the final round include Ted Purdy, Steve Stricker, and Fredrik Jacobson. Stricker came into Sunday in a tie for second, but he shot a 72 to finish in a tie for 13th. On another interesting note, Patrick Sheehan finished at the bottom of the leadearboard out of all the players who made the cut. Sheehan started the week off by shooting a brilliant 62 but limped home with rounds of 75 and 76 on the weekend.

With the exception of Kenny Perry, none of the big guns really made any noise on the weekend. Phil Mickelson, Stuart Appleby, Jim Furyk, and Justin Leonard all finished in a tie for 26th at -5. These players were the ones most people had their eyes on going into Colonial, but none of them got anything going on a consistent basis.

The U.S. Open at Pinehurst is in early June, and Kenny Perry will be heading into it on a major roll. He will surely be one of the favorites after this amazing performance at Colonial. However, this next week holds something different for Perry. He will be making a visit to the eye doctor. He has been struggling for awhile now reading greens, and he could even be wearing glasses the next time he tees it up. On an ending note, I don’t think anyone else that played at Colonial this week thinks Kenny Perry has a problem seeing anything on the golf course.

Pos  Player             Tot    R1    R2    R3    R4
1    Kenny Perry        -19    65    63    64    69
2    Billy Mayfair      -12    67    66    66    69
T3   Joe Durant         -11    71    63    69    66
T3   David Toms         -11    69    66    68    66
T3   Peter Lonard       -11    69    66    65    69
T6   Tim Petrovic       -10    71    69    66    64
T6   Rory Sabbatini     -10    67    69    68    66
T6   Scott Hend         -10    68    67    68    67
T6   Bernhard Langer    -10    68    69    66    67
T6   Aaron Baddeley     -10    69    66    67    68   
T6   Brandt Jobe        -10    65    69    67    69
T6   Rod Pampling       -10    66    67    68    69

Photo Credit: © Donna McWilliam,AP.