Jason Dufner Wins 95th PGA Championship

Posted by Dan Hauser on Aug 12, 2013 in golf | 0 comments

Two years ago, Jason Dufner came to the 15th tee at the Atlanta Athletic Club with a four shot lead at the PGA Championship. Dufner hit his tee shot on 15 in the water and the collapse had begun. Dufner lost his five shot lead and ended up in a playoff with Tequesta resident Keegan Bradley, who he eventually lost to in the three hole playoff. The collapse was so severe that someone with thin skin would probably never get over it the rest of his or her life, but not Dufner.

“I was probably over what happened in Atlanta, 95 percent of it, by the time we got back home at Auburn,” Dufner said.

That five percent stayed with him. It was the motivator he needed to fuel the fire. The constant reminder that he was good enough to win a major but hadn’t been able to accomplish it.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Well, that five percent disappeared on the 18th green Sunday at Oak Hill Country Club when Dufner, holding a two shot lead over runner up Jim Furyk, tapped in his bogey putt to win the 95th PGA Championship and finally get his first major.

Known as “Duf” by most on the tour, the stoic and stoned faced Dufner started the week off by breaking the course record with a 63 on Friday. Needing to sink his birdie putt on 18 to be the first golfer ever to shoot 62 in a major, Dufner left the putt short before tapping in for par. It didn’t matter though as he took the lead into the weekend on his way to winning the Wanamaker Trophy. Bradley even hung around on Sunday after his round to congratulate the newly crowned PGA Champion on his way back to the clubhouse.

As for Bradley’s play on the course, it was an up and down week. Paired with Jupiter Island resident Tiger Woods for the first two days, Bradley entered the final 3-over par before shooting a 66, good enough to finish in a tie for 19th. As for Woods, it was yet another major that was won by someone other than him, extending his majorless streak to five years. Woods shot a four day total of 4-over and finished in a tie for 40th.

Defending champion Rory Mcllroy had another strong performance at a PGA Championship. The Palm Beach Gardens resident managed to shoot three rounds under par on the week and finish in a tie for eighth.

In the end though, the man who had become more well known for his “dufnering” pose than his play on the course as of late now has a new trophy to pose with.