Buick Open: Final-Round Notebook
By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff
GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- The International Final Qualifying-America for the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale will be held Monday at Dearborn Country Club and TPC Michigan. A total of 45 players who teed it up this week will be vying for berths in the British Open. There are currently 46 players entered at Dearborn and 51 players at TPC. Players will play 36 holes at their respective courses with six qualifying spots awarded at each site.
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• One other way for players to qualify for the British Open is through a special money list -- the top two players, not otherwise exempt, who have earned the most PGA TOUR Official Money from the 2008 PLAYERS Championship and the five cosponsored and approved events leading up to and including the AT&T National (next week). The current top players are: Paul Goydos ($1,060,000), Rocco Mediate ($865,280), Briny Baird ($619,250) and Tommy Armour III ($589,780).
• Dudley Hart tied for ninth this week, his fourth top-10 finish in 15 starts this year. Hart's four top-10s are the most he's had in a single year since he had five in 2001. Interestingly, Hart's fourth top-10 in 2001 was a tie for fourth in his 21st start -- also the Buick Open.
• With his paycheck Sunday of $135,000, Dudley Hart pushes his season money total over the $1 million mark His season total of $1,133,063 is just $136,868 back his single-year best of $1,269,931 in 1991.
• Woody Austin did a better job of solving the front nine Sunday. Austin posted a 2-under 34 on the opening nine. He finished the week with scores of 34-37-37-34 on the front for a 2-under total with five birdies and three bogeys. He played the back nine in 16 under with an eagle, 16 birdies and two bogeys. His two bogeys came on his final two holes Sunday, at Nos. 17 and 18. Austin was at 20 under par and led by one shot before the closing two bogeys. He finished tied for second, one shot back of winner Kenny Perry.
• John Rollins posted a final-round 65 to finish at 15 under par and tie for ninth. Rollins had an up-and-down week with scores of 72-64-72-65. It's his first top-10 finish in 18 starts this year. His 65 is also his best final-round score since an 8-under 63 at the 2007 FBR Open, where he finished second.
• John Rollins has enjoyed his two best weeks of the year in terms of Driving Accuracy. Rollins hit a season-best 53 of 72 fairways (73.61%) at last week's Travelers Championship. This week, Rollins topped that by hitting 58 of 72 (80.6%) en route to his best finish of the year.
• Rookie Kevin Streelman has put together his two best weeks now. The 29-year old Duke grad has jumped from No. 140 on the FedExCup points list to No. 111 in that period. Streelman tied for 10th at last week's Travelers Championship and tied for 12th this week.
• Jim Furyk shot a final-round 71, increasing his par-or-better streak at the Buick Open to 41 consecutive rounds. Furyk posted scores of 68-72-71-71 and wound up tied for 36th, matching his lowest finish (1994) in his 14 years at Warwick Hills G&CC. Furyk has now posted par-or-better scores in 55 of his 56 rounds (98.21%) at the Buick Open. His only hiccup was a third-round 75 in 1997.
• Third-round leader Daniel Chopra fell out of contention early Sunday with bogeys on four of his first seven holes. By the time he made the turn with a 4-over-par 40, he was 12 under par and six shots back of leader Kenny Perry. Chopra hit only two of seven fairways on the opening nine and had 17 total putts. He shot a 75 and wound up tied for 17th. Chopra's errant tee shots finally caught up with him. He came into the week ranked No. 181 in Driving Accuracy (54.00%) and was leading the tournament after three rounds despite only 17 of 42 fairways.
• Robert Garrigus shot a final-round 65 and moved up to finish tied for 17th, his best effort of the year. Garrigus had made the cut in just seven of his 16 starts this year with a tie for 23rd at the Verizon Heritage his top finish.
• Brian Gay jumped up the leaderboard with a 65, one of the best final rounds of his career. Gay wound up 16 under par and tied for seventh. Two of his best final rounds have now come in this event. He had an 8-under 64 at the 2008 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, a 7-under 64 at the 2000 Kemper Insurance Open, a 7-under 65 at the 2001 Buick Open and his 65 Sunday.
• Bob Tway carded a 7-under-65 Sunday to finish at 17 under par and tied for fourth. His 7-under score was his best final round in relation to par since a 7-under 64 at the 2001 Greater Milwaukee Open. His tie for third is also his first top-10 since he tied for fifth at the 2005 Southern Farm Bureau Classic -- a span of 67 starts.
• Lucas Glover tied the best birdie-streak on the 2008 PGA TOUR when he reeled off six in a row late Sunday. Glover made six consecutive birdies starting at No. 12. He joins seven others who have done it this year. Glover shot a 67 to wind up at 16 under par and tied for seventh.
• Ken Duke had his best finish of the year, a tie for fourth. Duke's previous best this year was a tie for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational -- his only top-25 finish in 18 starts. Duke was playing in front of family and friends this week, his wife, Michelle, is from nearby Clarkston, Mich.
• Perry earned his 11th career PGA TOUR victory in his 554th event at the age of 47 years, 10 months and 19 days. His previous wins came at the 1991 Memorial, 1994 New England Classic, 1995 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 2001 Buick Open, 2003 Bank of America Colonial, 2003 Memorial, 2003 Greater Milwaukee Open, 2005 Bay Hill Invitational, 2005 Bank of America Colonial and 2008 Memorial Tournament.
• Perry earned 4,500 FedExCup points to move into third on the season-long points list with 15,933 total points. As a multiple winner this year, he earns a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR that will take him through the 2011 season.
• At 47 years, 10 months and 19 days, Perry became the oldest winner in Buick Open history. The previous oldest winner was Julius Boros (1967) at the age of 47 years, 3 months, 8 days.
• Perry also became the oldest winner on TOUR this year at 47 years, 10 months and 19 days. He won for the eighth time (11 wins) in his 40s, making him the oldest winner on TOUR since Fred Funk (50 years, 8 months, 12 days) at the 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Perry becomes the fifth multiple winner of the tournament following Vijay Singh (3), Julius Boros (2), Tony Lema (2) and Tiger Woods (2).
• Perry tied with Brian Gay and Michael Letzig with 24 birdies on the week, most among the field. He also posted four rounds in the 60s in both his wins at the Buick Open.
• This victory comes in Perry's 16th start at the Buick Open. In his career, he has notched two wins, four top-10s, with 13 cuts made.
• Perry's final round was tied for second-lowest finish for a winner this year, behind D.J. Trahan's 65 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Other rounds of 66 include Daniel Chopra (Mercedes-Benz Championship) and Tiger Woods (Arnold Palmer Invitational).
• Perry now has four top-10s, including two wins and a playoff loss, in his last six starts on TOUR. He also is the third multiple winner on the PGA TOUR in 2008, joining Tiger Woods (4) and Phil Mickelson (2).
• This is the third time out of his 11 victories that Perry has come-from-behind in the final round to win. The others were the 1994 New England Classic and the 2008 Memorial Tournament. Coupled with his win at the Memorial, this is the third season in his career recording multiple victories (2003 and 2005).
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