It’s a special win for Perry

Kentucky, Kenny Perry is coming home.

Perry shot a six-under-par 66 on Sunday to win the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., by a stroke, probably locking up a spot on the Ryder Cup team that will face Europe at Valhalla about 40 miles from his birthplace.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “It really won’t sink in until I’m actually putting on the red, white and blue.”

Perry was amazed he won at Warwick Hills for a second time because Woody Austin closed with consecutive bogeys to blow the tournament and Bubba Watson just missed a 12-footer that would have forced a playoff.

While Perry was on the driving range, he backed into earning $900,000.

“I still can’t believe I won,” said Perry, who finished at 19-under 269. “I feel like I need to go make a birdie out there to win.”

Austin and Watson shot 68s.

The 47-year-old Perry joined Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only multiple winners this year on the PGA Tour.

He also became the oldest player to win at Warwick Hills and joined a short list of multiple champions in the event.

Vijay Singh has three Buick Open titles, while Woods, Julius Boros, Tony Lema and now Perry have two in the tournament, which celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“It’s always nice to have your name associated with the greats of the game,” Perry said. “I’m just hanging on to the shirttails.

“I’m the guy that’s going to get their clubs out of the trunks of their car.”

Austin sounded as if he wanted to hide in a trunk.

He became the leader by curling a nine-footer in at the 16th, then fell back into a tie by missing a 13-foot putt for par on the next hole.

Austin three-putted from 63 feet to close the tournament and put Perry ahead.

“I threw it away,” said Austin, whose demonstrative ways led him to cup a ball and slam it against the wood board marking the seventh tee. “I didn’t hit the ball close enough to the hole the last two holes to counteract my yips.

“I’ve got to figure it out or I’d better quit.”

Watson had a chance to force a 73rd hole despite a hooked tee shot by remarkably punching the ball onto the green to set up a putt that he barely missed.

Perry is not going to be at the British Open next month because he already committed to playing in Milwaukee the same week, following his decision to not attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open the day after winning the Memorial in Ohio.

With Woods sidelined by season-ending knee surgery, Perry trails only two active players in U.S. Ryder Cup standings and one in the FedEx Cup standings.

He has all but guaranteed he’ll reach his goal of playing for his country in his home state and improving his chances to win $10 million in the PGA Tour’s playoff.

Before Perry gets a chance to win the loot, though, he will get an opportunity in September to live a dream.

“My only goal was to make the Ryder Cup team, and that’s really got me focused for whatever reason,” he said.

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Loren Roberts shot a three-under-par 68 to cap a one-stroke victory over Nick Price and Lonnie Nielsen in the Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y.

Roberts had three second-place finishes on the Champions Tour this year, including last week to Jeff Sluman, but his 12-under 201 total gave him his eighth title on the over-50 circuit, matching his total from his PGA Tour career.

The 53-year-old Roberts earned the winner’s share of $240,000 from the $1.6-million purse in the event he finished second in last year.

Price matched the tournament’s low round with a six-under 65 and finished tied for second at 11-under with Nielsen, the defending champion, who had a closing 66.