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 3.5-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 four 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 fifth 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 hometown 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 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 10 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 five 18th hole, Kelly lipped out and again hit the hole with his 4-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-10 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 30 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.