McNeill, Matteson share Viking Classic lead

Thunderstorms forced Friday’s second round of the PGA Tour’s supporting event, the Viking Classic, to be a staccato affair, with play going ahead before being suspended and going ahead again to being suspended for a second time.

Annandale Golf Club, Mississippi, the venue for the event has taken in more than four inches of rain since Monday, and the start of the second day’s play was delayed by more than two hours before the action got under way.

After around five hours of play, further thunderstorms suspended play for almost three hours before another 90 minutes of play and further storms called a halt to the day’s proceedings. The second round will now be concluded on Saturday morning.

The leader in the clubhouse is 2-time PGA Tour winner Troy Matteson, who managed to conclude his second round – adding a second successive 66 to his opening round to close at halfway on 12-under par. He was joined in a share of the lead by George McNeill, who was 7-under par through 17 holes.

Tom Pernice Jnr and Kevin Kisner share third spot, one shot behind the leading duo on 11-under par. Pernice Jnr had finished his round, signing for a 67 while Kisner had played through 14 holes.

In an event bereft of big name stars, four players share fifth spot one further stroke behind – Bobby Gates, Blake Adams, William McGirt and Chris Kirk. Adams had the day’s best round with a 62, making nine birdies, one eagle and one bogey to vault from seven strokes back to just two behind the leaders.

Kenny Perry, perhaps the most recognisable player in the field carded a second round 70 to close 8-under par for the tournament, while Brendon de Jonge – who contested the previous week’s John Deere Classic until a last-round collapse – was yet to start his second round, having finished round one at 7-under par.

Perry wins Payne Stewart Trophy

Veteran Kenny Perry – the man who narrowly missed out on winning the US Masters this year – has been awarded the Payne Stewart Award.

Perry, who has won fourteen times on the PGA Tour and who donates five percent of his winnings to a university scholarship fund picked up the award on Tuesday and Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was delighted to award the accolade to the player who came heartbreakingly close to winning the Green Jacket in April at Augusta National.

“We can’t imagine a more deserving recipient than Kenny Perry,” Finchem said in a statement. “Kenny embodies all of the qualities this award represents in his character, passion for growing the game of golf and commitment to charitable giving.”

Payne Stewart died in 1999 in a plane crash. The flamboyant American, instantly recognisable by his plus-fours had won 11 times on the PGA Tour, which included three majors and the trophy named in honour of him is awarded annually to a player who shares Stewart’s respect for the traditions of the game, as well as a commitment to upholding the game’s heritage of charitable support.

Perry has won twice in 2009, and donates a portion of any winnings he receives through competition to a scholarship fund at Liscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1995 the Kentuckian purchased 142 acres of land and borrowed in excess of $2 million to design and build a golf course in his hometown of Franklin – creating the only public course in the town.

Previous winners of the Payne Stewart Trophy include Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price, Tom Watson, Jay Haas, Brad Faxon, Gary Player, Hal Sutton and Davis Love III, and Perry was delighted to join the illustrious roll call.

“There is no greater honour for a professional golfer than to receive the Payne Stewart Award,” said Perry, 49.

No mistakes this time as Perry wins Travelers Championship

Although he threw away a glorious opportunity to don the US Masters’ green jacket, Kenny Perry made no mistake at River Highlands, Connecticut to lift the Travelers Championship, following a tournament record four-round total of 258.

Perry, who finished bogey-bogey at Augusta in April, before losing in a sudden-death playoff against Angel Cabrera tore the River Highlands golf course apart in the closing round, shooting a 63 to finish three strokes ahead of Paul Goydos and David Toms and make it a 1-2-3 for veterans; all three are in their 40s.

In fact, all through the week, Perry systematically dismantled River Highlands and tied the course record of 61 on the opening day. But even though, he held the half-way lead, Perry found himself trailing Goydos by a shot heading into the final round. As a result, Perry posted a front-nine score of 32 and stood on the par-4 15th hole with a five shot advantage over Goydos and apparently coasting to victory.

However, Goydos wasn’t done with and made a 20-foot put out of the fringe for an eagle, before also making birdie on 16. Perry meanwhile had birdied 15, but following Goydos’ birdie on 16 may have just began to feel that there was work still to be done. However, he closed Goydos out on the 17th where that rival missed out on a birdie putt, while Perry made his birdie after his approach landed him within 8 feet of the hole.

Perry recognized he was thinking about his Masters collapse as he played the back nine, and told himself to play aggressive.

“I knew that I had to keep making birdies,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let up. I wasn’t going to play defensive golf. I learned something from that mistake.”

Perry collected just over $1million for the victory, and takes his career tally for tournament wins to fourteen, just six short of the target of twenty he has set himself before he is eligible to join the seniors. The win also means Perry has won five times in the space of a year – the most of any player on tour – and has twelve top-ten finishes in the same period. He also moves to the head of the FedEx Cup standings.