2013 PGA Championship Tour Tidbits The six inch putt on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship by Jason Dufner was good for a two shot victory over Jim Furyk, good for his first major win, and good enough to elicit an incredible emotional response that saw both fists raised all the way to his shoulders! I have seen more emotion as a victory celebration at my local gas station with a customer winning $2 on a scratch off ticket. First and foremost, the win by Dufner is by all accounts a most popular one. Every golfer (and even a few non-golfers) has expressed their satisfaction with his victory, particularly with his losing this same championship just two years ago. For those of us with short term memories, it has literally been 24 months since Jason stood on the 15th tee at Atlanta Athletic Club and held a four shot lead. Enter stage right, Keegan Bradley with the long putter, a shot by Dufner into the water at 16, and well… a playoff loss to Bradley and his ever present tilted head, cock eyed look at the line. Keegan excited all of us with the win, and Jason gained a worldwide following for his on course demeanor and lack of expression. If you watched the conclusion of the round on Sunday, you will note that Keegan was waiting for Jason as he made his way to the scoring tent and gave him a big hug and hearty congratulations. A class act between two great players in this crazy game we play. Sunday’s round at Oak Hill began with Furyk holding a one shot lead over Jason Dufner. A brilliant round was played by both, but Jason managed to make three birdies on the front nine, and then pretty much put on a shot making clinic over the balance of the round. Furyk remained rock hard steady. The bottom line is that Jim Furyk did not LOSE the PGA Championship on Sunday, Jason Dufner WON it! Throughout the day, Dufner hit golf shots just as his hero used to do. Ben Hogan has been Jason Dufner’s golf role model since the young man began playing. He studied each and every aspect of Hogan’s swing, relished his on course personality, and actually had the chance to spend time with the legend before Mr. Hogan passed away. His website and twitter account contain numerous photos and mentions of the great golfer. I am pretty sure Mr. “H” was watching Jason on Sunday from a good seat in the sky. Congratulations to Jason Dufner. I think we will see him hoisting not only regular PGA Tour event trophies in the immediate future, but also adding his name to the list on the majors tally. Now for the “Tidbits” portion of my blog title. First of all I have to eat a little “crow” for my pre-event picks for the 2013 PGA Championship. I went with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, and Hunter Mahan. Think my low man was Westwood with a four round total of 3 over par. I do take a little credit in the fact that all four of my picks made the cut and played on the weekend. My pre-event prediction that the winning score would be a total of 11 under par looked good for awhile – If Jason had just made a four on 18!!! Regarding the four holes in one within two hours in 1989 at Oak Hill on the 6th hole with the same club (7 iron), this year saw only one ace. Tim Clark found the dark side of the cup on Sunday at the 11th hole from 220 yards with a hybrid. Needless to say, my phone did not ring with calls from reporters. Already looking forward to next week, and what the Golf Gods will bring. Hit ‘em Straight, Mancil Davis
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 07:42:27 +0000
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