Paul Azinger, who wants winners on his Ryder Cup team, can add Kenny Perry to his list of prospects after Perry won the Memorial Tournament yesterday in Dublin, Ohio.

Perry, playing well this year but not quite well enough to win, shot a final-round 69 at Muirfield Village to finish 8 under par, two strokes better than Jerry Kelly, Justin Rose, Mathew Goggin and Mike Weir.

"That really changed my thinking," Perry said of Azinger's philosophy. "I knew I had to win."

Perry, 47, who hadn't won in three years, was in contention three times in his last four starts but came up short twice. He was determined not to let the Memorial slip away.

"With all the pressure I put on myself to make the Ryder Cup team, this may be the No. 1 round I've played," he said, adding that he "didn't miss a shot."

The victory pushed Perry to fifth in Ryder Cup points. The top eight players qualify automatically; four are picked by Azinger. The team won't be finalized for another three months.

"My time is running out," Perry said. "I need to make it happen. Winning the Memorial is huge."

Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum, shot a 74 and finished tied for 73rd at 19-over 307. He won $11,580.

Parker McLachlin, a Punahou School alum, shot an 82 and finished 75th at 20-over 308. He won $11,400.

LPGA TOUR

LEE STUNS FIELD

Seon Hwa Lee didn't expect she'd be accepting the Ginn Tribute trophy from tournament host Annika Sorenstam yesterday in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Few others did, either.

Lee, though, took advantage of a stunning collapse from Sophie Gustafson, and watched Hall of Famer Karrie Webb miss a short par putt in the playoff. The result was Lee's third LPGA Tour title and one of the richest paydays, $390,000, in women's golf.

"There's lots of luck," said Lee, nine strokes behind when her round began.

The comeback was the second-largest in LPGA Tour history, surpassed only by 10-stroke rallies from all-time greats Mickey Wright in 1964 and Sorenstam in 2001.

Lee shot a 67 to finish at 14-under 274. In the playoff at No. 18, Lee two-putted for par from about 45 feet before Webb's crucial error.

"There is no excuse for missing that putt," Webb said.

Song-Hee Kim (69) was third at 13-under, followed by Gustafson and Jane Park (72) another two shots behind.

Holding a six-shot lead when the day began, Gustafson had five bogeys and two double bogeys in her last 15 holes for a 7-over 79.

"I just wanted to do what I had the last three days," said Gustafson, who shot 66, 65, 67 her first three rounds. "But then obviously that didn't work."

CHAMPIONS TOUR

HAAS STAYS HOT

Jay Haas looked up at a jam-packed leaderboard and knew there wasn't time to play it safe. So he got aggressive, and it paid off with four birdies on the back nine and a second straight Principal Charity Classic title at West Des Moines, Iowa.

Haas shot a 6-under 65 yesterday to win his second consecutive Champions Tour event and move into first place on the money list.

Haas, who won the Senior PGA Championship last week, finished at 10-under 203 total, one shot ahead of Andy Bean (67).

"It was a sweet win for sure. To do it under pressure when you need to do it, there's nothing like that," said Haas, who was one of 18 players within three shots of the lead entering the final round. "It's nice to do it when the heat's on. I'm on a roll right now."

Second-round leader Nick Price bogeyed his final hole and finished third with a final-round 69 and 8-under 205 total. Joey Sindelar was fourth at 7-under, and seven players tied for fifth at 6-under 207.

Haas was two strokes behind Price entering the day, but three straight birdies down the stretch gave him the lead for good. It started with a 48-foot putt on No. 14.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

Kris Blanks shot a 4-under 68 yesterday after entering the final round in a three-way tie for the lead, and came away with one-stroke victory over Bob May (64) at the Bank of America Open in Glenview, Ill.