Perry puts end to 6-year drought

Kenny Perry earned his first PGA Tour victory in six years and thefourth of his career by closing with a 3-under-par 69 to earn a two-stroke triumph Sunday in the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Perry's 72-hole total of 25-under 263 was two shots better thanChris DiMarco and Jim Furyk, who improved their Ryder Cup chanceswith strong performances. Dudley Hart and Tom Pernice Jr. finishedanother two strokes back at 267.

The Buick Open provided a tuneup for the PGA Championship thisweek at the Atlanta Athletic Club and an opportunity for some playersto improve their chances of making the Ryder Cup team. Furyk jumpedfrom 11th to eighth and DiMarco from 16th to 11th in the Ryder Cupstandings. The top 10 after the PGA Championship will make the team,and captain Curtis Strange will add two other players.

Perry, whose last victory came in the 1995 Bob Hope Classic, beganthe final round with a five-stroke lead after setting a tournamentrecord with a 54-hole score of 22-under 194. He finished one strokeoff the 72-hole mark held by Robert Wrenn.

"I didn't think I was ever going to win again," Perry said. "Itmade me appreciate those [first] three wins even more."

Perry was steady enough to keep his lead, thanks to a bogey-freeround. When his lead dwindled to one stroke over Hart, he drove thegreen on the 322-yard 14th hole and made a birdie to go to 24 under.Hart then bogeyed the 17th to give Perry a three-stroke lead. WhenFuryk pulled to within a shot with a long birdie putt on the 17th,Perry answered with a birdie on the 16th.

Perry saved a lot of pars, but perhaps his most dramatic was onthe sixth. His drive plugged in the fairway, his approach flew about30 yards past the green and his third shot landed next to a postsupporting an electronic leaderboard. After getting a free drop, hechipped onto the fringe and made about a 12-foot putt.

Billy Mayfair set a nine-hole tour record with a 9-under 27 on theback nine en route to an 11-under 61. Mayfair, who finished 17 under,also broke the tour's birdie/eagle streak with eight consecutiveholes under par on Nos.9-16. He eagled the 401-yard 10th and birdiedthe other seven holes.

LPGA: Wendy Ward withstood challenges from Moira Dunn and AnnikaSorenstam and set a tour scoring record for a 54-hole tournament towin the Wendy's Championship for Children by three shots in NewAlbany, Ohio.

Ward's 54-hole total of 21-under-par 195 was a tour record for a54-hole tournament, both in relation to par and for scoring total.The Wendy's Championship is normally a 72-hole event, but it wasshortened to three rounds to give players extra time to return fromthe Women's British Open.

The victory was Ward's third as a pro and ended a three-yeardrought. She closed with a 4-under 68. Ward and Sorenstam finishedtied for second.

EUROPEAN: Paul McGinley took a large step toward securing hisfirst European Ryder Cup berth by winning a three-man playoff tocapture the rain-shortened Wales Open in Newport. The tournament wasreduced to 36 holes after heavy overnight rain left the courseunplayable.

McGinley moved up to eighth on the Ryder Cup list when he parredthe fifth hole of the playoff to edge Daren Lee. Paul Lawrie had beenousted on the second playoff hole.

SENIORS: Bruce Lietzke broke out of the pack with birdies on the11th and 14th holes to earn a two-stroke triumph over Doug Tewell inthe 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn. Lietzke closed with a 3-under-par 69 that gave him a 54-hole total of 9-under 207.