PGA Results: 2013 PGA Championship

PGA Tour PGA Championship Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York Two years ago Jason Dufner had a five shot lead on the 15th tee in the final round of the 2011 PGA Championship. He’d vanquish that lead and enter a playoff with his friend Keegan Bradley. Bradley would win his first PGA Championship in the playoff. The sting of that loss is finally gone as Dufner calmly (at least on the inside) played a fantastic four rounds of golf to win the 2013 PGA Championship, his first major championship. There were many interesting storylines this week. Of course the big story was Tiger Woods, the big favorite after crushing the field at the Bridgestone Invitational the week before. But those in the know, knew that Tiger’s record at Oak Hill was not stellar. Woods would flirt with missing the cut but play on the weekend. He’d finish T40, 14 shots behind Dufner. Like Woods, Phil Mickelson was a favorite as well. Phil too would flirt with missing the cut and make it. After a 3rd round 78 killed his chances, Mickelson finished T72 at +12, 22 shots off of the leader Dufner. On a positive note, It seems that Rory McIlory may be making his way back to playing up to his potential. Rory finished strong, tied for 8th. Jim Furyk came into the final round with a one shot lead over Dufner. The two dueled it out over most of the round until Dufner took the lead on the back nine. Furyk couldn’t make many birdies in the final round, which proved to be the difference. But unlike the 2012 U.S. Open where he lost the tournament with bad play down the stretch, he was simply beaten by the player who was obviously best of the week, Dufner. Other Tours The LPGA Tour and Champions Tours were off this past week.