Henry Wins the Buick

J.J. Henry’s first PGA Tour win gave the hometown crowd something to really celebrate.

The Fairfield, Conn., native shot a three-under-par 67 Sunday for a victory at the Buick Championship by three strokes, becoming the first Connecticut player to win the 55-year-old tournament in Cromwell. The 31-year-old tipped his hat and applauded the fans as he walked up the 18th fairway to an ovation. He dropped his putter and pumped both fists in the air when his par putt rolled in.

He has been coming to the tournament since he was a boy, dreaming each time about a victory.

“Every time I’d leave here I’d go back to the putting green or the driving range and pretend I was winning the tournament,” said Henry, who shot 14-under 266 for the tournament. “It means the world to me.”

The victory also clinched Henry a spot in his first British Open and moved him to sixth in Ryder Cup points. Henry, who now lives in Texas, takes home $792,000, his biggest paycheck since joining the PGA Tour in 2000.

Hunter Mahan (65) and Ryan Moore (67), who had surgery on his left hand in March, tied for second at 11-under. It was Mahan’s best finish in two years. He also was looking for his first tour win.

Nathan Green (66) was all alone in fourth at nine under. Former Buick Championship winners Stewart Cink (67) and Woody Austin (68) were in a group that included Shigeki Maruyama (66) and Bubba Dickerson (67) at seven under.

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Dana Quigley has done so well in Kansas City, he might want to consider spending even more time there.

With a course-record-tying nine-under 63, Quigley held off all challengers and won the Champions Tour’s Greater Kansas City Golf Classic at Overland Park, Kan., for the second year in a row and the third time since 2000.

His three-day total of 18-under 198 was three strokes better than David Edwards, the second-round leader whose 63 on Friday had set the record for the Nicklaus-designed course.