Jason Dufner earns the first PGA Tour victory of his career - Golf News
Jason Dufner birdied the second extra hole in the playoffs at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to record the first ever PGA Tour victory of his career on Sunday, April 29, 2012.
Dufner carded a two-under par 70 in the final round to settle for a 19-under par tournament score.
Meanwhile, Ernie Els continued his great form in the tournament and fired a five-under par 67 to join him on top of the leaderboard.
Therefore, the game was forced to enter the playoffs where Dufner eliminated Els to raise the winning trophy at TPC Louisiana.
This was the third time that Dufner entered the playoffs on the PGA Tour. Last year, he managed to record two runner-up positions after losing to Mark Wilson and Keegan Bradley in the Phoenix Open and PGA Championship, respectively.
This year, he made it for the first time by overcoming the pressure against the veteran South African player.
"It's always really tough playing on Sundays whether you're in lead or middle of pack, and today I was fighting, trying to win event, and I think I showed myself a good bit out there," Dufner said.
"It was tough. Ernie made a great run at me and it felt like with five or six holes (to go) we were probably going to be battling for the win. To get the monkey off of my back, it's a great feeling," he added.
In the meantime, Els was a bit disappointed with his performance in the playoffs. He carded a total of three birdies and an eagle prior to entering the playoffs.
However, on the first extra hole, he missed the six-foot birdie chance that would have earned him the 19th PGA Tour victory of his career.
His putt missed the edge of the hole and went past two feet further. A similar incident happened on the second extra hole when his try for the birdie putt bruised the hole leading to a par shot.
Els said that, despite the playoff defeat, he did not make any bogey on the final day and used really few putts throughout the day. Therefore, it will help him in the upcoming events he is scheduled to play.
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