Perry made an eight-foot downhill birdie putt on 16, and a 15-footer for eagle at 17 to clinch the win. -- PHOTO: AP
NAPLES (Florida) - SCOTT Hoch and Kenny Perry notched their second straight 12-under 60 on Sunday to win the Merrill Lynch Shootout by four strokes.
Hoch and Perry finished the 2.9 million-dollar (S$4.3 million), 54-hole event at 31-under par, three shots shy of the all-time tournament record set by Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd in 1990.
Perry made an eight-foot downhill birdie putt on 16, and a 15-footer for eagle at 17 to clinch the win.
US Ryder Cup teammates Boo Weekley and JB Holmes (60) were second with a 27-under total, while tournament founder Greg Norman and Colombian Camilo Villegas were third at 25-under.
Norman and Villegas leapt up the leaderboard with a 15-under 57 in Sunday's scramble format.
Friday's opening round was a modified alternate shot format, while Saturday was better-ball.
Hoch and Perry played without a bogey all week, capturing the victory to erase the memory of losing the 36-hole lead on the final day of the 2003 edition.
Hoch, 53, became the oldest winner of the event as he claimed his first victory in 12 starts.
Perry won for the second time in six starts, after teaming with John Huston to win in 2005. -- AFP
