Kenny Perry is a favorite son of Franklin, Tennessee but Kentucky will claim him as well.
He’s as American as they come. Married his high school sweetheart, loves his family, digs classic muscle cars and has made a solid name for himself in professional golf.
His strong resume added another senior major on Sunday. Perry was simply too good, too long, too strong for Kirk Triplett, the only man with a chance to beat him at the 2017 U.S. Senior Open.
There was never a doubt as to who would win, Perry saw to that with a flawless performance at Salem Country Club where he shot in the 60s every day and closed with 68 to shoot 16-under par and beat record-setting Triplett by two shots. It wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Perry missed a couple of back nine three-footers for birdie or it would have been a total rout.
“Kenny played nice, he had control of his golf ball. I was just thrilled that I could be that close to him at the end. He was doing things you do to win golf tournaments. I didn’t,” said runnerup Triplett, whose resume pales in comparison to Perry’s.
This was Perry’s fifth senior major. He won 14 times on the regular PGA Tour but majors escaped him, including a heartbreaker at the 1996 PGA where he led by two shots standing on the 72nd tee, made bogey and eventually lost to Mark Brooks in a playoff.
He’s more than made up for it on the over-50 circuit.
He’s a humble, popular player, a small-town guy who built a public golf course in his hometown because there wasn’t one in Franklin. He’s a deacon in his church.
“Is that unreal?” Perry said after he holed the winning put to claim his second win in this event. He then immediately hoisted wife Sandy off the ground with a huge hug. “Hey baby girl,” he said to his spouse of 36 years.
“I never could get it done on the regular tour,” Perry reminded himself. Didn’t matter. He was accepting this one humbly, didn’t matter if it was his fifth. “I’m honored with all these great names on here,” he said looking at the trophy presented to him as the 38th Senior U.S. Open champion. “I’m just honored to be part of it.”
Perry made two birdies on the front nine to easily overtake Triplett. Triplett, who set the 36 and 54-hole scoring records, had just two bogeys over his first 54 holes. On the front nine he made four to hand the lead over to Perry, who never looked back. Triplett pressed Perry late with birdies at 14 and 16 and Perry fought off a possible bogey at the 15th when he holed a curling 25-footer for par. “That was the putt that won me the tournament,” Perry said looking back.
The best player hoisted the trophy late Sunday.
It was also fitting that Perry symbolizes everything that is America.
“He has incredible work ethic,” said former tour player Paul Azinger.
Back at home, he’s Kenny to the folks in Franklin.
They see him at church, at the course he built. He’s part of them, a part of Americana.
Kenny Perry, country boy, accomplished professional, still hits it long and straight.
Country strong.
2 Comments
RM
Nice articles on the Seniors and the Perry Triplett back stories. Hated to see Perry lose a Masters that seemed on the table that year Cabrera beat him. Has seemed to me to be a tough competitor who made the most of his considerable abilities without losing the capacity to still be a good guy along the way. Not that easy.
Tom Edrington
Kenny has always been one of the down-to-earth guys on tour, blue-collar work ethic, nice to people, has done a lot for his hometown…..great to see his senior success, can still remember that PGA loss at Valhalla….Nice Guys do finish first, even if it takes a while….thanks for checking in with us! Happy Fourth!