Justin Leonard matched Kenny Perry, but he couldn’t catch him on
Sunday at the $5-million Colonial.
Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion, fired a final round 61, tying the course record shared by Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen, Greg Kraft and Perry — who had carded his on Saturday to take a commanding eight-stroke lead into the final round.
But Perry himself, who finished tied for second here last year behind Zimbabwe’s Nick Price, carded a two-under 68 to win with a 72-hole total of 19-under 261 – six shots ahead of Leonard. That matched the second-largest winning margin ever at the Colonial.
The 2003 Colonial will always be remembered as the tournament in
which Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam tested her mettle against the men, becoming the first woman since 1945 to play in a Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour event.
But Perry and Leonard went a long way toward keeping the excitement level up after the Swedish Ladies’ Professional Golfers’ Association (LPGA) star failed to make the
cut.
Leonard started Sunday’s round four-under, 13 shots behind Perry. He opened with an eagle at the first, where he holed out from a bunker, and never wavered until a bogey at the final hole left him with a 13-under total of 267.
Jeff Sluman was third, closing with a 65 for 268, one shot in front of Brand Jobe (64).
Leonard became the first player since Ray Floyd in 1985 to birdie Colonial’s infamous ”Horseshoe,” — holes three, four and five.
”I can count the birdies I’ve made on those three holes on one hand in the last seven or eight years,” Leonard said.
”I’ve always struggled a little bit on those holes.”
He also birdied nine, 12, 13, 15 and 17.
Like Perry on Saturday, Leonard acknowledged thoughts of a 59 crossed his mind.
”Really, after I birdied 15 I was thinking about it,” he said.
His birdie at 17 moved him to 10-under for the day, one birdie shy of the coveted sub-60 number.
”Good drive on 18,” Leonard said.
”Unfortunately from there, I kind of got stuck between clubs.
”I was really dead between an eight-iron and a nine-iron,” said Leonard, who went with the nine-iron, left it short of the green and had to chip.
”I’m trying to hit the ball a foot from the hole,” he said.
”Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.” – Sapa-AFP