NAPLES, Fla. – Kenny Perry shot a 2-under 70 Sunday for his second Champions Tour title, cruising to a five-shot victory in the ACE Group Classic.
Perry birdied three of his first eight holes, and no one ever got closer than four shots after that. Perry totaled 24 birdies — two short of the tour record for a 54-hole event — and tied Allen Doyle (1999) for the largest margin of victory in the 25-year-old tournament.
Last year's Champions Tour rookie of the year set the tour's 36-hole scoring record in relation to par at 18 under following a 62 in Saturday's second round.
Defending champion Bernhard Langer eagled No. 17 for the third straight day and finished in second place after a 70. A bogey on the final hole dropped Perry into a tie with Langer for the tournament scoring record Langer set last year.
Tom Lehman, the 2011 player of the year, was in second for most of the day but bogeyed No. 12 and the par-5 17th after hitting in the water. He finished at even par to tie Bill Glasson (68) and Mike Goodes (69) for third.
First-round leader Larry Mize was tied for second on the last hole, but put two balls in the water and dropped to seventh with a 75.
After two calm days resulted in low scores, wind gusts topped 30 mph during the final round.
Perry, who earned $240,000 with the victory, also won the SAS Championship in October a day after his sister died of breast cancer — and two years to the day since Perry's mother also succumbed to cancer.
Perry had previously won twice in Naples, teaming with John Huston in 2005 and Scott Hoch in 2008 at the Franklin Templeton Shootout, an unofficial PGA Tour event.
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