The Splendid Ballstriking of Jason Dufner

Jason Dufner (Allison)

JASON DUFNER HAS A NEW HABIT. It’s called winning. With his victory at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, Dufner won for the second time in less than a month. (And his career.) It took 164 PGA Tour events to get that first one at the Zurich Classic. Now he has two, thanks to that 25-foot birdie putt he sank on the final hole at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas. He edged journeyman Dicky Pride by a shot.

Putting aside, Dufner is striping the ball. As Sean Martin of Golfweek wrote:

Dufner’s putt on the 72nd hole gave him the win, but his ball-striking put him in position to take another trophy. He led the Nelson field in greens-in-regulation (58 of 72), was second in driving accuracy (42 of 56) and ninth in driving distance (316.6 yards).

The Auburn grad and newly married man leads the FedEx Cup points race. As Martin reported, Jason has led in 10 of his last 32 rounds and is two for four in closing out wins after sleeping on the 54-hole lead.

Dufner is also a poser. Maybe you’ve noticed. He holds that finish for what seems like forever while he stares at his golf ball zooming down the fairway. I sometimes wonder why he looks at his tee shots so long.

Because, you know, it’s down the middle. Again.