Photo by Lara Cooper/Daily News Justin Perry putts Sunday in the Pickens Amateur Championship. Perry won the tournament by shooting a 4-under par. Justin Perry couldn t remember the last time he won a golf tournament.
After Sunday, Perry won t need such a strong memory to recall his last victory. Perry, son of PGA golfer Kenny Perry, captured the Pickens Amateur Championship at CrossWinds Golf Course by shooting 4-under, two strokes ahead of fellow Franklin native and Western Kentucky teammate Matt Fuqua. #8220College golf is tough and it s tough to get a win.
I was just glad to shoot a good round for my confidence, because I hadn t been playing that well. Whether I won or not, I still would have been happy. Perry s victory will also go down as one of his strangest.
Rain, which washed out Saturday s first round, tormented the tournament again Sunday. The 36-hole tournament turned into a 17-hole grind because of two rain delays. Although Perry s group, which was scheduled to tee off at 12:51 p.
m., was able to finish before sundown at about 8 p.m.
, only 17 holes were counted because the final group which included Fuqua could only complete 17 holes. #8220There was a lot of waiting and it was frustrating, Perry said. #8220I just tried to stay patient and take one shot at a time.
That s the best thing you can do not get ahead of yourself. Fuqua did make a late charge at Perry but couldn t reach the 4-under mark. Those in the championship flight began on hole 10 and Fuqua s chances looked slim after bogeying No.
4 his 13th hole of the day. But back-to-back birdies on No. 5 and No.
6 put Fuqua in contention. Fuqua also had a 10-foot uphill birdie putt on No. 7 that stayed on the lip of the cup.
#8220After the bogey, I bounced right back with the birdies and hit it close on No. 7 and I thought let s win this thing, Fuqua said. #8220But you couldn t read the putt at all.
I wanted to keep playing but there comes a point where you have to realize it s unfair. If everybody isn t playing in the same conditions, then everybody isn t playing the same golf course. The last two holes we played were not fair on our group s part.
And with any semblance of sunshine going away quickly, Fuqua bogeyed No. 8 to wrap up the long day. #8220It was the worst ever (day) I ve ever been a part of as far as delays, Fuqua said.
#8220I play a lot of college tournaments in the spring, where it obviously rains a whole bunch. But this takes the cake. Perry s tournament victory came thanks to a consistent round of golf that included five birdies and only one bogey.
Perry was 3-under after seven holes and golfers were called in for a second weather delay. The delay didn t hurt Perry, who birdied No. 2 to get to 4-under.
Perry s score peaked at 5-under No. 7 when he birdied the par-3 hole, before a bogey on No. #8220It was a very stress-free round, which was very nice, Perry said.
#8220I didn t hit it great, but I hit it pretty good. I kept the ball in play on every hole. If I didn t make birdie, I pretty much tapped in for par, which was nice.
Michael Haverfield took third place at 1-under. Defending champion John Kirby, Adam McDonald and Nathan Gassaway finished at even par. The tournament also included several that withdrew, including this year s Paul Walker and 2005 Pickens champion Jordan Blann.
Blann sat through both rain delays and was in contention 1-under after playing his seventh hole of the day before he decided to call it quits. #8220I was kind of getting fed up with it, I guess, Blann said. #8220I was looking forward to playing 18 holes.
But you come in twice, try and play however many holes and I just don t want to do that. It s not how you determine a winner. Blann s Paul Walker win had put him on top of the points standings in the newly created Amateur Championship Series.
But withdrawing Sunday hampered his chances of winning the series with only the Buick Invitational at Bowling Green Country Club remaining in the series. Said Blann: #8220I do (care about the points), but I guess I ll just have to go out and try and win the next one. The Buick Invitational is scheduled for July 21 and 22.
News RSS