US Senior Open of Golf 2017: Kenny Perry Earns 2-Stroke Win over Kirk Triplett

Kenny Perry never quite got over the hump during his PGA Tour career. His best-ever finish at a major championship was second at the 1996 PGA Championship and the 2009 Masters. He'd never done any better than third at a U.S. Open.

On Sunday at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Massachusetts, Perry got the job done four a fourth time on the Champions Tour.

Perry shot a two-under 68 on Sunday to finish at 16 under and earn a two-stroke victory over Kirk Triplett, who shot one over in his final round to lose his 54-hole lead. This is Perry's second U.S. Senior Open victory, joining his 2013 triumph at Omaha Country Club.

"Unreal to tell you the truth," Perry said on Fox, per Kyle Porter of CBS Sports. "It's our goal to win our championship and I never could get it done on the regular tour. To be a two-time champion now ... I've never had such a mental challenge, all week. It fell my way this week."

Brandt Jobe (-9) finished in third place, while Tom Lehman and Fred Couples (-8) rounded out the top five.

After he and Triplett lapped the field through the first three rounds, Perry's Sunday strategy was to play his steadiest possible round. He recorded a birdie on No. 1 to tie Triplett atop the leaderboard and added another on the par-five sixth. That was more than enough to secure himself first place alone, especially with Triplett struggling to find his form.

Looking for his first major win on the Champions Tour, Triplett sprayed shots all over the place in a wild final round. The 55-year-old carded four of his five bogeys on the front nine to give Perry an edge, making the turn at three over after bogeying No. 8 and No. 9. He settled down on the back by carding three birdies and only dropping one more stroke, but the damage was done to his round.

Triplett opened the tournament with an eight-under 62 and reeled off three straight strong days before falling short Sunday. This is Triplett's second second-place finish in a senior major and his 11th top-10 finish in a major tournament since joining the circuit.

Perry had not won on the Champions Tour since winning the 3M Championship in 2015.

"I've been kind of lost for two years," Perry said, per Porter. "Been really struggling out here. It all came together this week. Why it did, I don't know. But I'm very thankful."