Kenny Perry

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Kenny Perry
— Golfer —
Kennyperry.jpg
Personal information
Full name James Kenneth Perry
Born (1960-08-10) August 10, 1960 (age 64)
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Franklin, Kentucky
Spouse Sandy Perry
Children Lesslye, Justin, Lindsey
Career
College Western Kentucky University
Turned professional 1982
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 25
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 14
Champions Tour 8
Other 3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T2: 2009
U.S. Open T3: 2003
The Open Championship T8: 2003
PGA Championship 2nd: 1996
Achievements and awards
Payne Stewart Award 2009
Charles Schwab Cup 2013
Jack Nicklaus Trophy
(Champions Tour
Player of the Year)		 2013

James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, for which he became eligible following his 50th birthday. On June 30, 2013, Perry won his first senior major championship at the Constellation Senior Players Championship, then won his second consecutive senior major the next month at the U.S. Senior Open, and then took the Regions Tradition in May 2014.

Early years

Perry was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and raised in Franklin, Kentucky. His parents are Ken and Mildred Perry. He was introduced to the game of golf by his father at the age of seven.[1] He started his high school golf career at Franklin-Simpson High School. Shortly thereafter, his father accepted a job opportunity in McCracken County a few miles outside Paducah, Kentucky. Kenny attended high school and played on the golf team at Lone Oak High School, which is also in McCracken County and adjacent to Paducah. After graduating from Lone Oak, he attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Personal life

Perry has three children (Lesslye (Harris), Justin and Lindsey) with his wife, Sandy Perry. His son Justin played on Western Kentucky University's golf team, and has also caddied for his father on several occasions. His mother, Mildred, died on October 1, 2009, at the age of 79 at her home in Franklin while under Hospice care after a long battle with multiple myeloma a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.[1] Perry is a member and deacon of Franklin Church of Christ in Franklin, Kentucky.[2]

Professional career

Perry turned professional in 1982. He failed in his first two attempts to qualify for the PGA Tour at Q-school. He missed by 1 stroke one year and received word that his wife had gone into labor during the fourth round the next year. He had been sponsored by a group of about twenty individuals, many local citizens from Franklin, in his early play on the mini-tours and his first two attempts at Q-school. In 1985, a Franklin businessman and David Lipscomb University (now simply Lipscomb University) graduate lent him $5000 for a last shot at Q-school. Rather than repay the loan, he was asked to give a percentage of his tour earnings to Lipscomb if he qualified. He tied for 40th at Q-school, earning his card with a two-shot cushion. Perry and his benefactor agreed on 5 percent, and he has maintained that commitment to Lipscomb ever since in the form of a scholarship for residents of Simpson County, Kentucky.

In Perry's first few seasons, he struggled to retain his qualification status. He made his first big (for the time) check on the PGA Tour ($55,000) with a T-4 finish at the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational in May 1987. Shortly after that tournament, Perry repaid all of the money put up by all of his original sponsors, even though he had no legal obligation to do so. Perry got his first win in 1991 at the Memorial Tournament. Two more wins followed in the mid 1990s, another in 2001, and three victories in 2003.

In 1996, Perry was in contention at the PGA Championship held at Valhalla in his native Kentucky. He had a one shot lead on the last hole but took a bogey and proceeded to be beaten in the playoff by Mark Brooks.[3]

Perry played in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. On the first day, Perry played in an afternoon foursome with Stewart Cink and they lost to Sergio García and Luke Donald (2 & 1). On the third day, Perry played in a singles match and lost to Lee Westwood (1 up). Team Europe defeated Team USA 18½ to 9½.[4]

In 2005, Perry won at the Bay Hill Invitational and the Bank of America Colonial. The following year, he became the 10th man to reach $20 million in PGA Tour career earnings in addition to taking an 8-week break from the tour to recover from knee surgery. He was in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for over 100 weeks from 2003–2005 and 2009-2010.[5]

Since returning from arthroscopic knee surgery in early 2006, Perry struggled to find the previous form he had from 2003 to 2005. However, in 2008, he had a steady start making 10 cuts in his first 11 tournaments, and beginning in the middle of May he had six top ten finishes in eight starts, including three victories in the Memorial Tournament, the Buick Open, and the John Deere Classic (in which he beat Jay Williamson and Brad Adamonis in a playoff).[6] He received some criticism for skipping major championships in 2008 in order to concentrate on qualifying for the Ryder Cup team. He was eager to make the team as the event was being held in his native Kentucky, and he helped the USA win the cup for the first time since 1999.[7]

Perry played in the 2008 Ryder Cup at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. On the first day, Perry played a morning foursome with Jim Furyk and they halved the match with Sergio García and Lee Westwood. On the second day, Perry played a morning foursome with Furyk and they defeated Pádraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson (3 & 1). Also on day two, Perry played an afternoon fourball with Furyk and they lost to Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell (1 up). On the third day, Perry played in a singles match and defeated Henrik Stenson (3 & 2). Team USA defeated Team Europe 16½ to 11½.[8]

Despite rumors that he would retire following Team USA's Ryder Cup victory, Perry confirmed at the start of the 2009 PGA Tour season that he hoped to win at least eight more tournaments, which would take his career total to 20.[9] Twenty wins ensures a lifetime PGA Tour membership.

Perry won his first event in 2009 in his third start at the FBR Open, where he defeated Charley Hoffman on the third playoff hole with a birdie.[10] It was his 13th career tour win. He maintained a rich vein of form throughout the first few months of the 2009 season, making ten cuts in ten events and registering five top-10 finishes during this streak. He was leading the 2009 Masters Tournament by two strokes with two holes to go, but recorded two straight bogies to go into a playoff with Ángel Cabrera and Chad Campbell. He then bogeyed the second hole of the playoff, handing victory to Cabrera. Perry would have become the oldest winner of The Masters at 48 years old, 8 months, and 2 days. He received over 700 letters and emails in the aftermath of his playoff defeat, including a note from former President George W. Bush.[11]

Perry won his second event of 2009 at the Travelers Championship in June, coming from one stroke behind Paul Goydos. Perry shot a final round 63 and won his 14th tour event, one win closer to his goal of 20 career wins.[12] He won the event by three strokes over Goydos and fellow American David Toms. With the win he moved into a career high spot of four at the Official World Golf Ranking.[13]

Perry is one of the highest all-time PGA Tour money winners without a major championship, with career earnings of over $32 million while coming up short in the 1996 PGA Championship and 2009 Masters Tournament, both in playoffs. For his success in leading the USA to victory in the Ryder Cup, he and fellow Kentuckian J. B. Holmes were named Kentuckians of the Year for 2008 by Kentucky Monthly magazine. He is good friends with former World Number 1 player Vijay Singh, who calls him "Biggie".[14]

Perry began playing on the Champions Tour after turning 50 in August 2010 while continuing to play on the PGA Tour. He won his first event in October 2011 at the SAS Championship. He nearly withdrew from the event after learning of his sister's death.[15] In 2011, Perry split his time between the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He finished 15th on the Champions Tour money list playing in ten events. Although his focus was on the Champions Tour, he also had status on the PGA Tour until 2014 due to multiple wins in 2008 and 2009.

Perry won for the second time on the Champions Tour early in 2012 at the ACE Group Classic. He shot rounds of 64 and 62 on the first two days to break the 36 hole scoring record on the Champions Tour and after ending with a 2 under par round of 70, he tied the overall tournament scoring record at 20 under par.

Perry was given a special invitation from the PGA of America to compete in the 2014 PGA Championship, held in his home state of Kentucky and site of his 1996 playoff loss; he finished T27.

In 2015, he used a one-time exemption for being the top 25 of the career money list. He said he intended to play 18 events on the PGA Tour and only about seven on the Champions Tour, mainly the major tournaments.[16] Perry made the 2015 Memorial Tournament, site of three of his PGA Tour wins, his 641st and last PGA Tour event.

Honors

In 1993, Perry was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame.[17] In 1994, he was inducted in the Western Kentucky University Hall of Fame.[18] He was named the winner of the 2002 Charles Bartlett Award, given to a professional golfer for his unselfish contributions to the betterment of society, by the Golf Writers Association of America. In 2007, Perry was inducted into the Western Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni.[19] On October 14, 2008, Perry was inducted into Lipscomb University's Athletics Hall of Fame.[20] He won the 2009 Payne Stewart Award.

On November 3, 2013, Perry clinched the 2013 Charles Schwab Cup. He was also named 2013 Champions Tour Player of the Year.[21]

Professional wins (25)

PGA Tour wins (14)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 May 19, 1991 Memorial Tournament −15 (70-63-69-71=273) Playoff United States Hale Irwin
2 Jul 24, 1994 New England Classic −16 (67-66-70-65=268) 1 stroke Northern Ireland David Feherty
3 Feb 19, 1995 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic −25 (63-71-64-67-70=335) 1 stroke United States David Duval
4 Aug 12, 2001 Buick Open −25 (66-64-64-69=263) 2 strokes United States Chris DiMarco, United States Jim Furyk
5 May 25, 2003 Bank of America Colonial −19 (68-64-61-68=261) 6 strokes United States Justin Leonard
6 Jun 1, 2003 Memorial Tournament (2) −13 (65-68-70-72=275) 2 strokes United States Lee Janzen
7 Jul 13, 2003 Greater Milwaukee Open −12 (69-67-66-66=268) 1 stroke Australia Stephen Allan, United States Heath Slocum
8 Mar 20, 2005 Bay Hill Invitational −12 (70-68-68-70=276) 2 strokes Northern Ireland Graeme McDowell, Fiji Vijay Singh
9 May 22, 2005 Bank of America Colonial (2) −19 (65-63-64-69=261) 7 strokes United States Billy Mayfair
10 Jun 1, 2008 Memorial Tournament (3) −8 (66-71-74-69=280) 2 strokes Australia Mathew Goggin, United States Jerry Kelly,
England Justin Rose, Canada Mike Weir
11 Jun 29, 2008 Buick Open (2) −19 (69-67-67-66=269) 1 stroke United States Woody Austin, United States Bubba Watson
12 Jul 13, 2008 John Deere Classic −16 (65-66-67-70=268) Playoff United States Brad Adamonis, United States Jay Williamson
13 Feb 1, 2009 FBR Open −14 (72-63-66-69=270) Playoff United States Charley Hoffman
14 Jun 28, 2009 Travelers Championship −22 (61-68-66-63=258) 3 strokes United States Paul Goydos, United States David Toms

PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1991 Memorial Tournament United States Hale Irwin Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1996 PGA Championship United States Mark Brooks Lost to birdie on the first extra hole
3 2008 AT&T Classic Japan Ryuji Imada Lost to par on first extra hole
4 2008 John Deere Classic United States Brad Adamonis, United States Jay Williamson Won with par on first extra hole
5 2009 FBR Open United States Charley Hoffman Won with birdie on third extra hole
6 2009 The Masters Argentina Ángel Cabrera, United States Chad Campbell Cabrera won with par on second extra hole
Campbell eliminated with par on first hole

Other wins (3)

Champions Tour wins (8)

Legend
Senior major championships (3)
Other Champions Tour (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 2, 2011 SAS Championship −11 (66-69-70=205) 1 stroke United States John Huston, United States Jeff Sluman
2 Feb 19, 2012 ACE Group Classic −20 (64-62-70=196) 5 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer
3 Jun 30, 2013 Constellation Senior Players Championship −19 (71-63-63-64=261) 2 strokes United States Fred Couples, United States Duffy Waldorf
4 Jul 14, 2013 U.S. Senior Open −13 (67-73-64-63=267) 5 strokes United States Fred Funk
5 Oct 27, 2013 AT&T Championship −13 (65-71-67=203) Playoff Germany Bernhard Langer
6 May 18, 2014 Regions Tradition −7 (72-68-69-72=281) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia
7 Aug 3, 2014 3M Championship −23 (65-63-65=193) 1 stroke Germany Bernhard Langer
8 Aug 2, 2015 3M Championship (2) −18 (69-61-68=198) 4 strokes United States Scott Dunlap, Germany Bernhard Langer
United States Kevin Sutherland

Champions Tour playoff record (1–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
(with United States Scott Hoch)		 United States David Eger & Republic of Ireland Mark McNulty Lost to par on second extra hole
2 2013 Montreal Championship Mexico Esteban Toledo Lost to birdie on third extra hole
3 2013 AT&T Championship Germany Bernhard Langer Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2015 Insperity Invitational United States Tom Lehman, Wales Ian Woosnam Woosnam won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1988 1989
Masters Tournament DNP DNP
U.S. Open T54 DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP T51
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP T12 CUT CUT DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP T25 DNP CUT T50 CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T49 77 DNP DNP T55 T49 2 T23 T10 T34
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP CUT T39 CUT T29 DNP DNP DNP T2
U.S. Open DNP DNP T45 T3 CUT T23 58 DNP DNP 44
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP T8 T16 T11 CUT DNP DNP T52
PGA Championship T30 T44 T29 T10 CUT T23 T49 T23 WD T43
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Masters Tournament T27 DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open T33 DNP DNP DNP T28
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP T27

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
WD = Withdrew
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 1 1 2 10 5
U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 1 3 13 10
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 4
PGA Championship 0 1 0 1 3 6 21 18
Totals 0 2 1 3 6 14 51 37
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2003 U.S. Open – 2003 PGA)

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
2013 Constellation Senior Players Championship 2 shot deficit −19 (71-63-63-64=261) 2 strokes United States Fred Couples, United States Duffy Waldorf
2013 U.S. Senior Open 2 shot deficit −13 (67-73-64-63=267) 5 strokes United States Fred Funk
2014 Regions Tradition 1 shot lead −7 (72-68-69-72=281) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia

Senior results timeline

Results are not in chronological order prior to 2014.

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The Tradition T5 T13 T15 1 T5
Senior PGA Championship T22 9 T2 T13 DNP
Senior Players Championship T13 T8 1 4 T34
U.S. Senior Open DNP CUT 1 T14 T12
Senior British Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

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External links

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