Kenny Perry

He tied for 40th at Q-school, earning his card with a two-shot cushion.

Perry and his benefactor agreed on 5 percent, and he has maintained that commitment to Lipscomb ever since in the form of a scholarship for residents of Simpson County, Kentucky.

In Perry's first few seasons, he struggled to retain his qualification status.

James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

Perry turned professional in 1982.

He failed in his first two attempts to qualify for the PGA Tour at Q-school.

He missed by 1 stroke one year and received word that his wife had gone into labor during the fourth round the next year.

He had been sponsored by a group of about twenty individuals, many local citizens from Franklin, in his early play on the mini-tours and his first two attempts at Q-school.

In 1985, a Franklin businessman and David Lipscomb University (now simply Lipscomb University) graduate lent him $5000 for a last shot at Q-school.

Rather than repay the loan, he was asked to give a percentage of his tour earnings to Lipscomb if he qualified.

He made his first big (for the time) check on the PGA Tour ($55,000) with a T-4 finish at the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational in May 1987.

Shortly after that tournament, Perry repaid all of the money put up by all of his original sponsors, even though he had no legal obligation to do so.

Two more wins followed in the mid-1990s, another in 2001, and three victories in 2003.

Perry got his first win in 1991 at the Memorial Tournament.

In 1996, Perry was in contention at the PGA Championship held at Valhalla in his native Kentucky.

He had a one shot lead on the last hole but took a bogey and proceeded to be beaten in the playoff by Mark Brooks.

He was eager to make the team as the event was being held in his native Kentucky, and he helped the USA win the cup for the first time since 1999.

He was in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for over 100 weeks from 2003 to 2005 and 2009 to 2010.

Perry played in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.

On the first day, Perry played in an afternoon foursome with Stewart Cink and they lost to Sergio García and Luke Donald (2 & 1).

On the third day, Perry played in a singles match and lost to Lee Westwood (1 up).

Team Europe defeated Team USA 18½ to 9½.

In 2005, Perry won at the Bay Hill Invitational and the Bank of America Colonial.

After returning from arthroscopic knee surgery in early 2006, Perry struggled to find the previous form he had from 2003 to 2005.

However, in 2008, he had a steady start making 10 cuts in his first 11 tournaments, and beginning in the middle of May he had six top ten finishes in eight starts, including three victories in the Memorial Tournament, the Buick Open, and the John Deere Classic (in which he beat Jay Williamson and Brad Adamonis in a playoff).

He received some criticism for skipping major championships in 2008 in order to concentrate on qualifying for the Ryder Cup team.

Perry played in the 2008 Ryder Cup at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

His mother, Mildred, died on October 1, 2009, at the age of 79 at her home in Franklin while under Hospice care after a long battle with multiple myeloma a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Perry is a member and deacon of Franklin Church of Christ in Franklin, Kentucky.

The following year, he became the 10th man to reach $20 million in PGA Tour career earnings in addition to taking an 8-week break from the tour to recover from knee surgery.

He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 2013 Constellation Senior Players Championship, the 2013 U.S. Senior Open, the 2014 Regions Tradition, and the 2017 U.S. Senior Open.

Perry was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and raised in Franklin, Kentucky.

His parents are Ken and Mildred Perry.

He was introduced to the game of golf by his father at the age of seven.

He started his high school golf career at Franklin-Simpson High School.

Shortly thereafter, his father accepted a job opportunity in McCracken County a few miles outside Paducah, Kentucky.

Kenny attended high school and played on the golf team at McCracken County's Lone Oak High School, near Paducah.

After graduating from Lone Oak, he attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

Perry has three children (Lesslye (Harris), Justin and Lindsey) with his wife, Sandy Perry.

His son Justin played on Western Kentucky University's golf team, and has also caddied for his father on several occasions.