Perry clinches Colonial victory

Kenny Perry finished with a 68 to secure a six-shot win at the Colonial, breaking the tournament record by three shots after finishing on 19-under-par 261 over four rounds.

The 42-year-old’s only blemish on his final-day card came when he bogeyed the 16th, but three earlier birdies had given him a dominating lead over the field.

With the Annika Sorenstam experience in the past, Perry tied a course record with a nine-under-par 61 yesterday to open a huge eight-stroke lead after three rounds, and there was no strong challenge to his supremacy on the final day.

That is not to demean the achievements of Justin Leonard, who shot a 61 himself to finish second and would have gone under 60 had he birdied and not bogeyed the last, but Perry was always far in front.

Leonard’s aggregate of 267 put him 13 under par, while third place went to Jeff Sluman who posted a 65 to finish 12-under.

Brandt Jobe finished fourth, a further shot back, while five players tied for fifth on 10 under.

Perry said: “I had a weekend where I was very relaxed and very calm. I didn’t really look ahead.”

He explained how stunned he was to shoot 61 yesterday.

“The next thing I knew they were all going close to the flagstick,” he said.

“It could have been a really good round today also.

“This is the kind of golf course where you get out into the lead and hang on.

“I felt very comfortable coming out today.”

Speaking of his plans for the rest of the season, Perry indicated that this victory was unlikely to have any great impact on his schedule.

“I have tournaments I really enjoy playing and play anyway. I’m going to Muirfield next week and hopefully I can play well there.”

Final-round scores from the Bank of America Colonial, played Country Club Fort Worth, Texas.

(USA unless stated Par 70)

261 Kenny Perry 68 64 61 68

267 Justin Leonard 68 72 66 61

268 Jeff Sluman 68 68 67 65

269 Brandt Jobe 67 70 68 64

270 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 64 70 67 69, Hal Sutton 71 67 65 67, Pat Bates 69 66 69 66, Jim Furyk 68 65 69 68

272 Harrison Frazar 69 69 66 68, Esteban Toledo (Mex) 68 68 69 67, Dan Forsman 66 66 73 67, Fred Funk 70 67 69 66

273 Steve Flesch 69 66 69 69, Loren Roberts 67 69 70 67, Stewart Cink 67 70 66 70, Marco Dawson 68 70 71 64, Phil Mickelson 67 70 68 68

274 Olin Browne 67 71 68 68, Jay Haas 69 70 67 68, Lee Janzen 71 67 70 66

275 John Senden 71 70 68 66, Tim Petrovic 68 66 72 69, Dean Wilson 71 67 69 68, Briny Baird 70 68 68 69, Brandel Chamblee 70 69 70 66, Billy Mayfair 69 70 68 68, Nick Price (Zim) 70 70 65 70

276 Gene Sauers 69 68 70 69, Frank Lickliter II 68 66 70 72, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 70 68 70 68, Corey Pavin 68 70 69 69, Patrick Sheehan 65 72 68 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 69 68 68, Jay Williamson 67 67 73 69

277 Bob Burns 69 70 70 68, Alexander Cejka (Ger) 70 70 65 72, Billy Andrade 68 68 71 70, Dudley Hart 70 71 68 68, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 66 68 73 70

278 Chad Campbell 67 67 74 70, Kirk Triplett 69 71 70 68, Glen Day 67 70 75 66, Tim Herron 71 68 69 70, Spike McRoy 67 72 71 68

279 Brian Gay 68 69 76 66, Stephen Ames (Tri) 67 72 74 66, Woody Austin 70 67 72 70, J.L. Lewis 72 69 70 68, Rocco Mediate 68 72 68 71, Shaun Micheel 71 69 72 67, Brett Quigley 67 73 68 71

280 Bob Tway 69 70 73 68, Joe Durant 70 70 71 69, J.P. Hayes 70 71 71 68, Craig Parry (Aus) 67 70 72 71

281 Brian Watts 67 71 72 71, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 68 71 72 70, Mike Sposa 67 69 74 71, Duffy Waldorf 67 70 71 73, Mark Calcavecchia 65 75 72 69

282 Len Mattiace 69 69 75 69

283 Brenden Pappas (Rsa)70 68 74 71, Scott Verplank 69 69 71 74, David Frost 69 71 75 68, Brian Henninger 70 69 71 73

284 Rich Beem 68 69 76 71, Joey Sindelar 69 71 71 73, Steve Elkington (Aus) 72 68 70 74, Peter Jacobsen 72 68 71 73, Jonathan Kaye 73 67 72 72

285 Luke Donald 68 71 73 73, Cliff Kresge 68 70 73 74, Brent Geiberger 71 70 72 72

286 Jeff Brehaut 68 70 74 74, Tom Byrum 70 71 72 73

293 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 75 66 74 78