Jason dufner biography pga championship 2013

Jason Dufner

Jason Dufner lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Oak Hill Country Club, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013, in Pittsford, N.Y. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Jason Dufner got on quite a roll after he holed out from the fairway for an eagle at the second hole.

Not that anyone could tell.

The laid-back player who gave us "Dufnering" hardly showed a lick of emotion during his relentless march toward the record book. Then, finally, with a chance to do something that had never been done -- shoot 62 in a major championship -- the significance of the moment finally got to the Cleveland native.

Dufner left a 12-foot birdie putt a good 18 inches short, settling for a 7-under 63 that tied the major scoring record at the PGA Championship on Friday.

"I showed a little bit of nerves there," he conceded. "That's one where you'd like to gun it when you have a chance at history. But I was able to two-putt and share a little bit of history."

Indeed, it was quite a round.

Dufner became the 12th player to shoot 63 in the PGA Championship. Steve Stricker was the most recent to do it, in the opening round two years ago at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Overall, it is the 26th time a player has shot 63 in a major. It has been done at all four of golf's biggest events.

"The history of the game is something dear to my heart," Dufner said. "To be part of history, to be there forever, is a neat accomplishment. I never thought a guy from Cleveland, Ohio, would be able to do the type of things I've been able to do."

He is best known -- on the course, at least -- for squandering a four-shot lead with four holes remaining at the 2011 PGA. He lost to Keegan Bradley in a playoff.

Dufner gained even more fame this year when a photo emerged of him slumped a

American professional golfer

Jason Christopher Dufner (born March 24, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour where he is a five-time winner. He has won one major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship. He was also runner-up in the 2011 PGA Championship, losing a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Dufner was ranked in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 50 weeks; his career-high ranking is sixth in September 2012.

Early life

Dufner was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area when he was 11 years old, and then to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when he was 14. It was there that he started playing golf, and played for St. Thomas Aquinas High School during his sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Amateur career

Dufner was a walk-on at Auburn University, where he won three times in his college career and was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1997. He graduated from Auburn in 2000 with a degree in economics.

In 1998, Dufner played in the finals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Torrey Pines, falling to Trevor Immelman, 3 and 2. The 1998 U.S. Amateur was the first tournament with his long time caddie, Kevin Baile.

Professional career

In his early career, Dufner struggled to hold down a place on the PGA Tour. He was a member of the PGA Tour in 2004 and the Nationwide Tour in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Dufner won two events during his time on the Nationwide Tour, the Buy.com Wichita Open in 2001 and the LaSalle Bank Open in 2006. He finished in 8th place on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2006 to earn his PGA Tour card for 2007. He finished 127th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2007, and failed to qualify at the PGA Tour Q-School, where he finished T149. He retained conditional status for the 2008 PGA Tour season, and then finished T11 at the Q-School that year to earn his car

American Webb Simpson was on course for an early 62 but faltered late on to equal the then course record of 64, set by Ben Hogan in 1942 and then again by Curtis Strange in 1989. The former US Open champion ended four under alongside 2010 US PGA winner Martin Kaymer (68) and American Charley Hoffman (67).

While others were making hay, Woods mixed four birdies with four bogeys and cut a frustrated figure as he chases an elusive 15th major and first since 2008.

"Obviously I'm going to have to put together a really good weekend," Woods said. "I'm going to have to do my job and shoot a good round but then again, I'm so far back that if the leaders go ahead and run off with it and shoot a low one I'm going to be pretty far behind."

Scott, who made his major breakthrough at the Masters in April, continued the form that saw him lead late on during the Open last month and set the clubhouse target at seven under at Oak Hill, dubbed "Soak Hill" after the torrential morning rains.

"I think the platform has never been better for me to go on and win multiple majors," said Scott. "I guess you've got to take the confidence and form of winning a major and run with it. I can't take my foot off the gas just because I achieved something great at Augusta."

Scott's playing partner Rose, who is also targeting a second major of the season after winning his first at Merion in June, fired a stunning homeward nine of 29 for his 66.

"It's wonderful to be in this situation right now, talking about having done it, talking about feeling like you can win more, believing in yourself and not talking about how I hope it could happen this week. So I think that alone makes it easier," he said.

Only Gene Sarazen (1922), Ben Hogan (1948), Jack Nicklaus (1980) and Tiger Woods (2000) have won the US Open and US PGA in the same year,

Retribution has been a theme for golf’s major championships this year. Perhaps now it’s Jason Dufner’s turn to write his own fairytale story at the 95th PGA Championship.

In April, it was Adam Scott, who had blown a four-shot lead in last year’s British Open, winning his first major in a playoff at the Masters. Last month it was Phil Mickelson, coming off his heartbreaking sixth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open only weeks earlier, capturing his first British Open.

And now it’s Dufner, who only two years ago in this tournament held a five-shot lead with three holes to play only to lose to Jupiter’s Keegan Bradley in a playoff.

Dufner put himself in position to win his own first major Friday, breaking the Oak Hill course record with a 7-under-par 63 to take a two-shot lead over the formidable trio Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Scott.

“What’s happened with me in majors is in the past,” Dufner said. “Still trying to chase it, still trying to learn from the mistakes I made in prior majors. I’m excited I’m in the lead and looking forward to a good weekend and maybe closing one of these out.”

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Still around this weekend — though probably not in contention — are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Both had great momentum coming in, Woods having won last week at Bridgestone and Mickelson still on the high from his British conquest, but Woods shot 70 Friday to sit 10 shots back at 1-over while Mickelson is 11 back after a second straight 71.

“Obviously, I’m going to have to put together a really good weekend,” Woods said.

With 12 players within five shots of the lead, the season’s final major is very much up for grabs. But it’s Dufner who took best advantage of the soft, nearly windless conditions after Friday’s morning rains ended.

“I felt I could be more aggressive today,” he said. “I hit driver on just about every hole with the exception of (Nos.) 12 and 13.