PGA TOUR Henry registers his first victory

J.J. Henry fired a closing 67 and won the Buick Championship by three strokes.
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) -- J.J. Henry's first PGA Tour win gave the hometown crowd something to really celebrate.
The Fairfield native shot a 3-under 67 Sunday for a victory at the Buick Championship by three strokes, becoming the first Connecticut player to win the 55-year-old tournament.
The 31-year-old tipped his hat and applauded the fans as he walked up the 18th to an ovation. He dropped his putter and pumped both fists in the air when his par putt rolled in.
He's 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," Henry said. "It means the world to me."
In first British Open
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.
"Sometimes we get too caught up in trying to figure out how someone else does it instead of trying to find your way," Mahan said. "I feel like I'm getting closer to finding my way and doing what I need to do to go out there and play well."
Green places third
Nathan Green (66) was all alone in third at 9-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 7-under.
Henry not only had to beat the field, but had to get out ahead of the weather.
The final round was moved up about three hours and golfers went off in threesomes because of the threat of severe storms late in the afternoon.
Rumbles of thunder could be heard by the time Henry's group reached No. 15. The storms did hold off though, and Henry and his family celebrated on the 18th green to the delight of the thousands of fan lining the bowl-shaped hole.
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