Even after Annika Sorenstam went home, Kenny Perry and Justin Leonard made the Colonial something to remember.

Perry shot a two-under-par 68 and coasted to his first victory since 2001 while Leonard flirted with history before tying a course record with a 61 on the final day.

Perry shot his own 61 on Saturday to open a huge eight-stroke lead after three rounds. He played cautiously Sunday and was never seriously threatened before finishing with a tournament-record 19-under 261, six strokes better than Leonard.

"I'll probably be the guy remembered for winning Annika's event, but at least I'll be remembered for something," the 42-year-old Perry said.

Leonard entered the final day 13 shots off the lead but was able to take some of the spotlight off Perry with his dazzling round. He eagled the par-five first hole and had birdies on numbers three, four and five.

The 30-year-old was six-under on the front nine and added four more birdies over the next seven holes. He came to the 18th needing a birdie to tie the PGA record of 59 set on three occasions, most recently by David Duval in 1999.

"It was definitely in the back of my mind during the putts on 15, 16 and 17," said Leonard as he closed in on a potentially historic round. "It was a lot of fun."

But Leonard's approach shot on the 18th fell short of the green and his chip sailed past it, forcing him to settle for bogey.

"I had a good drive on 18 but unfortunately I got stuck between an eight-iron and a nine-iron," Leonard admitted. "I felt like the wind had died down enough for me to get there with a nine-iron and it didn't work out."

Sorenstam put her name in sports lore by becoming the second woman in history and first since 1945 to play in a PGA Tour event. The bubble burst Friday, when she shot 74 and missed the cut by four strokes.

While the attention of the entire world centred on Sorenstam, Perry quietly put himself into contention with a 64 on Friday after a 68 on Thursday.

"The 64 on Friday really got me going," he said. "I was in a rhythm and in sync."

He again impressed on Saturday by birdying six of his first nine holes en route to a 61, tying Leonard, Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen, and Greg Kraft for the lowest ever at Colonial.

With the huge cushion, Perry played it safe on Sunday. He birdied the first hole and had 10 straight pars. He birdied 12 and 13 and his only bogey came on 16 - his first in 57 holes.

"I was calm and relaxed," Perry said. "It was easy. I was comfortable and enjoyed what I was doing out there. Normally, I'm stressed out but I was able to defeat those demons."

The 17-year PGA veteran knows that he has become a footnote to golf history as the winner of the tournament that featured the first appearance by a woman in a PGA event in 58 years. Those outside the PGA Tour may not know who Perry is, but that is just fine with him.

"You just get respect from your peers and that means a lot to me," he said. "I'm not a superstar. I'm just a good soldier and it's nice to finally beat them all."

With Sorenstam out of the competition and Perry way out in front, Leonard provided the drama that was expected to be lacking in the final round. The galleries that had hoped to be watching Sorenstam on Sunday instead went with Leonard.

"We had a good following," Leonard said. "It was nice to make a few putts today. I feel good about my game coming into an important time of the year."

Leonard kept his shot at history alive on number 16 when his drive found a greenside bunker and he saved par with an approach shot to within seven feet of the pin.

Leonard had his best performance since winning the Honda Classic in March. He tied for ninth at last week's Byron Nelson Classic.

Jeff Sluman shot a five-under 65 on Sunday and was alone in third at 268.

"A lot of times in golf you go out and play great and someone plays better," Sluman said. "That's was happened today."

Brandt Jobe shot a 64 and was alone in fourth at 269. Rory Sabbatini (69), Pat Bates (66), Hal Sutton (67), and Jim Furyk (68) shared fifth place at 270.

Sabbatini was the closest to Perry at the start of the final round, but he never got closer than seven shots.

Final-round scores from the Bank of America Colonial, played Country Club Fort Worth, Texas. (USA unless stated Par 70)

261 Kenny Perry 68 64 61 68

267 Justin Leonard 68 72 66 61

268 Jeff Sluman 68 68 67 65

269 Brandt Jobe 67 70 68 64

270 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 64 70 67 69, Hal Sutton 71 67 65 67, Pat Bates 69 66 69 66, Jim Furyk 68 65 69 68

272 Harrison Frazar 69 69 66 68, Esteban Toledo (Mex) 68 68 69 67, Dan Forsman 66 66 73 67, Fred Funk 70 67 69 66

273 Steve Flesch 69 66 69 69, Loren Roberts 67 69 70 67, Stewart Cink 67 70 66 70, Marco Dawson 68 70 71 64, Phil Mickelson 67 70 68 68

274 Olin Browne 67 71 68 68, Jay Haas 69 70 67 68, Lee Janzen 71 67 70 66

275 John Senden 71 70 68 66, Tim Petrovic 68 66 72 69, Dean Wilson 71 67 69 68, Briny Baird 70 68 68 69, Brandel Chamblee 70 69 70 66, Billy Mayfair 69 70 68 68, Nick Price (Zim) 70 70 65 70

276 Gene Sauers 69 68 70 69, Frank Lickliter II 68 66 70 72, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 70 68 70 68, Corey Pavin 68 70 69 69, Patrick Sheehan 65 72 68 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 69 68 68, Jay Williamson 67 67 73 69

277 Bob Burns 69 70 70 68, Alexander Cejka (Ger) 70 70 65 72, Billy Andrade 68 68 71 70, Dudley Hart 70 71 68 68, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 66 68 73 70

278 Chad Campbell 67 67 74 70, Kirk Triplett 69 71 70 68, Glen Day 67 70 75 66, Tim Herron 71 68 69 70, Spike McRoy 67 72 71 68

279 Brian Gay 68 69 76 66, Stephen Ames (Tri) 67 72 74 66, Woody Austin 70 67 72 70, J.L. Lewis 72 69 70 68, Rocco Mediate 68 72 68 71, Shaun Micheel 71 69 72 67, Brett Quigley 67 73 68 71

280 Bob Tway 69 70 73 68, Joe Durant 70 70 71 69, J.P. Hayes 70 71 71 68, Craig Parry (Aus) 67 70 72 71

281 Brian Watts 67 71 72 71, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 68 71 72 70, Mike Sposa 67 69 74 71, Duffy Waldorf 67 70 71 73, Mark Calcavecchia 65 75 72 69

282 Len Mattiace 69 69 75 69

283 Brenden Pappas (Rsa)70 68 74 71, Scott Verplank 69 69 71 74, David Frost 69 71 75 68, Brian Henninger 70 69 71 73

284 Rich Beem 68 69 76 71, Joey Sindelar 69 71 71 73, Steve Elkington (Aus) 72 68 70 74, Peter Jacobsen 72 68 71 73, Jonathan Kaye 73 67 72 72

285 Luke Donald 68 71 73 73, Cliff Kresge 68 70 73 74, Brent Geiberger 71 70 72 72

286 Jeff Brehaut 68 70 74 74, Tom Byrum 70 71 72 73

293 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 75 66 74 78