What a day for Dufner. He was simply a machine. Congrats on winning the PGA championship. Funny how he shows no emotion whatsoever even after winning, but decides to play grab ass with his fine ass wife on national tv.
Auburn is now relevant in something again. Dufner went to Auburn, got married in Auburn, and still lives in Auburn, although his wife is a Bama grad.
What told me a lot was the 3 foot putt for par on #1 that he had absolutely no trouble with. I knew he had it in him to hit fairways and get on the greens, but what would his putter do under pressure? He answered it on 1. And he kept it up all the way until hole 17, when it pretty much didn't matter. Dufner burned the edge of about 5 or 6 other holes on the day for birdie. So the 68 is misleading, it was a clinic out there and a great Sunday at a major for Dufner. He could have easily had another 63.
Brain cramp moment on Sunday was Stenson on 14, which is a drivable par 4. He doesn't try to drive it, but he doesn't try to lay up in wedge range either. This hole has a huge front bunker and the pin placement on Sunday was right there in the front maybe 12 feet from the fringe. Stenson hits his 3 wood about 20 yards short of the bunker, giving him a perilous flop shot. He simply didn't think that through. He ended up bogeying the hole and effectively ended his chance at the championship. Some allude to the divot that the ball was just in front of, but that wasn't why he flubbed his flop shot. He deccelerated on that shot, thus hitting it a little fat and not enough distance on it even if he did hit it cleanly. If he birdies the hole, I think he wins the championship.
What you always wonder in a major on Sunday, who's gonna handle the PRESSURE. The Duffman did well. But it's conceivable that his past major meltdown prepared the way for his ultimate success. That's what I love about golf, the talent level seldom overcomes the mental aspect of the sport.
I agree it is ultimately what is between the ears. It's the reason Mickelson has had issues closing out majors (see Wingfoot 2006 US Open). It's the reason Tiger can't seem to get to major #15.
