With a win at the Greater Milwaukee Open, Kenny Perry officially
served notice to the rest of the PGA tour that he would be a
contender from here on out.
The hottest player on the Tour took home his
third title in four starts at last week’s GMO. Played on Brown Deer
Park’s 6,700 yard municipal layout, Perry made birdie putts on the
final two holes to post a one-stroke victory over Steven Allan and
Heath Slocum who were both looking for their first tour wins.
“I’ve always been the underdog,” Perry said.
“Nobody has expected very much from me but I have opened their eyes
a little bit the last month.”
Perry, who began the day with a one stroke
lead over three players including Allan and Slocum, fired his
second straight 66 to finish the tournament at 12 under par.
His victory was not as easy as expected,
however, as the back nine featured the kind of drama that the
birdie-friendly Brown Deer course is known for. Perry, a six-time
tour winner, battled Allan and Slocum to the very end, finally
besting them with a three and a half foot birdie putt on the
18th green.
Perry made the tournament interesting with a
wedge shot that spun off the green at the par four 12th
hole, making a bogey five. Meanwhile Allan birdied the
12th for a two stroke swing on the leader board. At the
13th, Perry once again found himself in trouble after an
errant tee shot and a second shot that plugged in a greenside
bunker. Another two-stroke swing occurred as Perry recorded a
double bogey to Allan’s par.
Allan appeared calm and collected throughout
his final round, which included only one bogey, as the 27 year old
Australian chased his first victory on the PGA tour. That bogey,
coming on the par 4 17th hole, however, created just the
window of opportunity that Perry needed.
Down by one stroke and facing a huge breaking
putt on 17, Perry dropped in the biggest shot of the tournament
answering the cheers with a fist pump that had everyone except
Perry thinking about a playoff.
“I was refocused.” Perry said. “I saw (Allan)
made bogey and I said, “Well heck, if I can birdie these last two
holes, I can win the golf tournament.”
Perry’s Birdie on 18 gave him another tour
victory and boosted him to 5th on the money list with
$3,522,538.
“It’s been quite a run,” Perry said. “I don’t
know why all of a sudden I’m winning golf tournaments… I believe in
my heart I’m going to win and I think that’s been the big
difference.”
Playing as a backdrop to Perry’s heroics, a
pair of Wisconsin players with something to prove on their home
turf gritted it out Sunday afternoon. Most professionals who play
out of the state acknowledge this as their season’s “fifth major,”
and the crowds along the fairways give noticeable sway to the home
town boys.
Madison’s Jerry Kelly, seeking to become the
first Wisconsin native to win the state’s only PGA Tour tournament,
began Sunday’s round just two strokes off the lead. After his
putter literally fell apart during a rain delay in Friday’s round,
the repaired implement failed to serve Kelly well as he chased the
leaders on Sunday. He struggled with the flat stick all day, three
putting the par three third green for an unexpected bogey and
failed to get a rhythm going for the rest of the day.
Kelly made birdies on the 10th and
11th holes, both with pinpoint iron shots inside of ten
feet. Hanging within striking distance, Kelly’s chances of a late
charge slid past when an eagle putt on the par five 15th
hole slid well past and Kelly three putted for his par.
With a short birdie look on the par 5
18th hole, Kelly lipped out and again hit the hole with
his four foot par attempt, three putting the final hole and
acknowledging the raucously supportive hometown faithful with a
disparaging shrug.
“If I didn’t have tap in birdies today, I
didn’t make any,” a visibly frustrated Kelly said after his round
of one over par 71. “And I didn’t really swing well all day.”
Kelly was not the only Madison golfer
disappointed with his final round play come Sunday Afternoon.
Former Badger Mario Tiziani who gave a monstrous effort in his
second round Birdie Birdie finish to make the cut, shot an even par
round of 70 to finish the tournament tied for 32nd. Back
nine troubles doomed Tiziani’s chances of gaining an exemption into
the British Open, which would have required a top ten finish.
Bogeys on 10, 15 and 16 had him sitting at
one-under par before a scrambling birdie on 18 concluded his round.
It was the short game that seemed to fail the young professional as
his green side was less than desirable. The 2003 GMO marked the
first time Tiziani played on Sunday in the PGA tournament as he had
missed the cuts his previous four tries.
“I definitely felt a little different,”
Tiziani said after his final round. “I felt like I belonged a
little more.
UW’s Jon Turcott was also unable to find his
game during the GMO, as he failed to follow up his stellar 2002
performance, in which he was the first amateur in thirty years to
play the weekend at the GMO. Turcott failed to make the cut this
year with rounds of 72 and 73, a five over par total and three
shots off the line. Although his ticket home was punched earlier
than anticipated, the aspiring professional considered the
opportunity to play as his biggest gain.
“Every round you play out here is a learning
experience,” said Turcott, who will return to collegiate
competition in the fall as a fifth year senior.
