Kenny Perry victorious at Annika's Colonial
IN: News | US PGA | Bank of America Colonial (2003) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 26 May 2003
Kenny Perry has long been considered as the man who lost the 1996 USPGA when he made an absolute mess of the first playoff hole at Vahalla but the way he has been playing over the last eighteen months, then that incident is rapidly becoming a fading memory. Many will recall his decision to sit in the commentary booth following his final round that week while Mark Brooks and others playing some time behind finished theirs. When he emerged for the playoff he was not ready and as he hacked his way down the first playoff hole, his chance of a major title was gone. This win goes a long way to erasing that memory forever.
Perry's win in the Bank of America Colonial was perhaps overshadowed by the razzamataz surrounding the week but keeping that aside, then his win will be remembered as one of the best ever at the Colonial. Not only did he win the event by six shots from Justin Leonard, he broke the tournament record previously held by Fulton Allem by three and in doing so, produced a course record third round of 61; not a bad week, Kenny.
A third round lead of eight shots is a luxury that many could only dream of but there were no doubt nerves on the first tee for Perry, given that is has been two years since he last won. It is true that he was second just a few weeks ago at the Bay Hill tournament and that he finished second here last year but his form since Bay Hill, including a missed cut last week at the Byron Nelson, gave no real indication that such a convincing victory was just around the corner.
Perrys' nineteen under par total had him the victor by six over a fast finishing Justin Leonard who, with the support of the many locals and the additional crowds whose attendance Annika had attracted, produced a last round 61 despite a disappointing bogey at the last.
Leonard came to the par four eighteenth needing a birdie to break 60. A par would give him a new course record and when he drove the ball in the middle of the fairway at the last with just a short iron for his second, the chances were looking very good. Caught between an eight and nine iron Leonard chose to hit the nine iron hard and in doing so did not catch it quite as he hoped, the outcome leaving the ball short of the green and a difficult pitch across the shoulder of the bunker required if he was to break the magical 60. He attacked perhaps too much as it turned out and was left with a ten foot putt for par which he missed. Still he joins Perry, Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen and Greg Kraft as players to have shot 61 at the Colonial event.
Jeff Sluman continued his recent good form for third following a last round 65 himself with Brandt Jobe's last round 64 catapulting him into fourth.
These are scores with which we are unfamiliar at the Colonial Golf Club but reflected a week where scoring generally was improved by benign and soft conditions.
John Senden rallied with a final round 66 for his best finish of the year, tying for 21st and a cheque for around $US50,000. This was the sixth consecutive cut for Senden and after a slow start to the season he is now finding his feet in his second year on the USPGA Tour.
Craig Parry was 52nd, Greg Chalmers 56th and Steve Elkington 66th.
Before we leave the Bank of America Colonial it would be remiss not to mention the outstanding performance of Annika Sorenstam. It would be easy to look at her finish in isolation and say that she was not up to making the cut. When you consider however the duress and intense pressure she was under during the three months leading into the event, that she was playing the PGA Tour for the first time and that she played under tournament conditions foreign to her, her performance was brilliant. She is not the first to miss a cut on debut on the USPGA Tour and will not be the last. When you consider the odds stacked against her this week, then irrespective of the rights and wrongs of her participation, she has displayed the upmost courage and class.
It is true to say that Annika Sorenstam will have learned much from her week on the USPGA Tour but equally the PGA Tour can learn much from the participation of Annika. She showed dignity in the face of extreme pressure and won the hearts and minds of those both at the course and the countless golfers and non golfers who watched around the world. She continued to acknowledge the support of the crowd despite battling to make the cut. She attracted the attention of the golfing world and did not let them down.
The emotion she displayed at the completion of her second round showed just how much she had kept herself in check in order to get the job done. It perhaps also reflected that deep down, despite not making the cut, she was very proud of what she had achieved.
The tour now moves to the Muirfield Village course in Dublin Ohio for the Memorial tournament and Annika heads to the Kellogg-Keebler Classic in Illinois on the LPGA Tour for which she is currently entered. It is hard to imagine that this week can be anything other than a let down of sorts but being the champion that she is she may well win.
