Kenny Perry celebrates after sinking a par putt on the 18th green during the final round of the Senior Players Championship golf tournament at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kenny Perry won the Senior Players for his first major title, overtaking Fred Couples on Sunday with a final round 6-under 64.
Perry finished his four rounds in 19-under 261 at Fox Chapel, two shots ahead of Couples and Duffy Waldorf.
Perry was runner-up in the 1996 PGA Championship and 2009 Masters while playing as a regular on the PGA Tour. He tied for second in the Senior PGA Championship last month.
On Sunday, the 52-year-old Kentuckian hit close to the pin on Nos. 16 and 17 for tap-in birdies to break free from Couples and Waldorf. Couples began the day with a two-shot lead but missed a handful of short putts, opening the door for Perry.
Perry trailed by as many as eight shots in the second round before tracking down Couples over the weekend. He drew within two thanks to a pair of 7-under 63s in the second and third rounds. He followed with a nearly flawless round. Perry put together six birdies against no bogeys and shook loose late with a pair of superb irons.
Couples three-putted from 8 feet on the par-4 15th to put Perry in front by one. Perry followed by knocking his second shot to within 2 feet on the par-4 16th then did the same at the 231-yard par-3 17th to take a two-shot lead to the 18th tee. Couples had one last chance on the par-5, knocking it on in two. His eagle attempt from 45 feet stayed out to the right, ensuring a frustrating fourth second-place finish on the year.
It’s a spot Perry has known all too well in the biggest tournaments. A 14-time winner during a lucrative PGA Tour career, Perry’s sparkling record also includes a couple of high-profile collapses.
He held a one-shot lead over Mark Brooks at the 1996 PGA Tournament at Valhalla just outside Louisville, about two hours north of Perry’s hometown of Franklin, Ky., only to bogey the final hole to fall into a playoff with Mark Brooks. Brooks birdied the first extra hole for the victory.
The heartbreak grew exponentially 13 years later, when he stood on the 17th tee at Augusta with a two-shot lead. Consecutive bogeys dropped Perry into a three-way tie with Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell. He failed to get up and down on No. 10, the second playoff hole, and Cabrera made par to capture the green jacket.
Perry had another close call at the Senior PGA in May. He led through three rounds at Bellerive in St. Louis but was dogged by knee pain and overtaken by unheralded Kohki Idoki.
This time, there would be no folding.
Buoyed by a hot putter, Perry teamed with Waldorf to wear down Couples.
Waldorf began the day four strokes behind Couples but wasted little time making up ground. He rattled off four straight birdies to start the day, including tap-ins at 199-yard par-3 third and another at the 485-yard fourth. He and Perry forged a three-way tie with Couples when both players scrambled for birdie at the shot par-4 seventh while Couples three-putted for par.
Couples’ problems worsened a few minutes later. On the par-4 eighth, his ball bounced off a sprinkler head behind the green and bounded 20 yards down the hill. He couldn’t get up and down while Perry and Waldorf parred, dropping Couples out of the lead for the first time since he sprinted past John Huston early in the second round.
Waldorf briefly moved to the top of the leaderboard by himself after a short birdie putt on the ninth completed a sparkling 29 on the front. The fun, however, was just beginning as the three players spent the final nine holes jockeying for position.
Waldorf’s pace finally slowed with a bogey on the 12th and another on the 15th. Couples and Perry each hit within 8 feet on the 15th. Both players missed their birdie putts, but Couples pulled his comebacker to the left. The Hall of Famer leads the Champions Tour in putting average but struggled on the greens on the final day.
Michael Allen and first-round leader John Huston tied for fourth at 12 under. Colin Montgomerie, playing in his first Champions Tour event, closed with a 65 to tie for ninth.
Tom Lehman, left, signs an autograph during a pro-am event at Fox Chapel Country Club in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The Senior Players Championship golf tournament begins Thursday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Constellation Senior Players Championship Scores
The Associated Press
Sunday
At Fox Chapel Golf Club
Pittsburgh
Purse: $2.7 million
Yardage: 6,696; Par: 70
Final
Charles Schwab Cup points in parentheses
Kenny Perry (810), $405,000 71-63-63-64—261
Fred Couples (432), $216,000 66-62-67-68—263
Duffy Waldorf (432), $216,000 66-67-66-64—263
Michael Allen (288), $144,450 67-68-68-65—268
John Huston (288), $144,450 65-67-68-68—268
Jeff Hart (206), $102,600 68-65-70-67—270
Morris Hatalsky (206), $102,600 70-67-66-67—270
Bernhard Langer (172), $86,400 72-69-63-67—271
Mark Calcavecchia (130), $64,800 68-68-66-70—272
Bill Glasson (130), $64,800 69-67-70-66—272
Colin Montgomerie (130), $64,800 69-70-68-65—272
Corey Pavin (130), $64,800 71-65-67-69—272
Peter Senior (130), $64,800 69-69-68-66—272
Mike Goodes (0), $49,950 67-68-65-73—273
Tom Pernice Jr. (0), $49,950 67-71-71-64—273
Tom Lehman (0), $44,550 68-68-69-69—274
Jeff Sluman (0), $44,550 72-69-67-66—274
Roger Chapman (0), $36,720 69-69-69-68—275
Fred Funk (0), $36,720 66-69-69-71—275
Chien Soon Lu (0), $36,720 72-66-70-67—275
Rod Spittle (0), $36,720 69-68-70-68—275
Sandy Lyle (0), $30,510 70-69-71-66—276
Rocco Mediate (0), $30,510 70-69-68-69—276
Steve Elkington (0), $27,000 68-69-70-70—277
Larry Mize (0), $27,000 68-71-71-67—277
Hal Sutton (0), $27,000 69-71-67-70—277
David Frost (0), $21,446 68-68-73-69—278
Tom Kite (0), $21,446 74-68-67-69—278
Tom Watson (0), $21,446 72-69-71-66—278
Jay Haas (0), $21,446 69-72-68-69—278
Jim Rutledge (0), $21,446 74-71-68-65—278
Esteban Toledo (0), $21,446 75-69-69-65—278
Bruce Vaughan (0), $21,446 71-66-71-70—278
Chip Beck (0), $17,415 68-72-69-70—279
Joe Daley (0), $17,415 71-69-69-70—279
Jay Don Blake (0), $15,795 73-67-73-67—280
John Cook (0), $15,795 70-69-70-71—280
Bart Bryant (0), $14,850 70-67-72-72—281
Mark Brooks (0), $12,420 71-68-69-74—282
Joel Edwards (0), $12,420 67-70-72-73—282
Scott Hoch (0), $12,420 68-74-69-71—282
Peter Jacobsen (0), $12,420 69-71-69-73—282
Dick Mast (0), $12,420 72-72-68-70—282
Mark Mouland (0), $12,420 70-71-76-65—282
Mark O’Meara (0), $12,420 68-66-75-73—282
Bob Tway (0), $12,420 70-71-70-71—282
David Eger (0), $8,910 70-70-68-75—283
Jim Gallagher, Jr. (0), $8,910 67-74-72-70—283
Steve Lowery (0), $8,910 71-71-68-73—283
Gene Sauers (0), $8,910 69-69-73-72—283
Willie Wood (0), $8,910 70-70-74-69—283
Brad Faxon (0), $6,683 71-74-70-69—284
Dan Forsman (0), $6,683 70-73-70-71—284
Steve Jones (0), $6,683 70-68-71-75—284
Mark McNulty (0), $6,683 73-70-74-67—284
Loren Roberts (0), $5,940 73-71-75-66—285
Tom Byrum (0), $5,400 70-75-71-70—286
Steve Pate (0), $5,400 70-74-72-70—286
Scott Simpson (0), $5,400 73-72-67-74—286
Jeff Freeman (0), $3,915 71-71-74-71—287
Barry Lane (0), $3,915 77-67-72-71—287
Andrew Magee (0), $3,915 71-73-71-72—287
Gil Morgan (0), $3,915 71-75-69-72—287
Larry Nelson (0), $3,915 76-68-73-70—287
Mike Reid (0), $3,915 71-73-72-71—287
Kirk Triplett (0), $3,915 74-68-73-72—287
Mark Wiebe (0), $3,915 71-75-72-69—287
Hale Irwin (0), $2,538 72-71-76-69—288
Tom Jenkins (0), $2,538 77-72-68-71—288
David Peoples (0), $2,538 72-74-73-69—288
Bobby Clampett (0), $2,052 68-73-74-74—289
Bob Gilder (0), $2,052 72-72-69-76—289
Gary Hallberg (0), $2,052 72-74-73-70—289
Kohki Idoki (0), $1,674 75-72-70-73—290
Nick Price (0), $1,674 72-70-75-73—290
Tom Purtzer (0), $1,674 73-73-74-70—290
Craig Stadler (0), $1,458 70-69-76-76—291
Wayne Levi (0), $1,350 76-71-76-70—293
Joey Sindelar (0), $1,242 72-77-71-74—294
Ben Crenshaw (0), $1,161 74-80-77-74—305