Dufner strikes again to win Byron Nelson

Updated May 21, 2012 09:59:30

Australia's Marc Leishman fell just short of a maiden PGA Tour win, but American Jason Dufner held his nerve to win the Byron Nelson Championship with a pressure putt on the last.

Dufner took his second title of the year, just three weeks after breaking a 163-event win drought, draining a 25-foot birdie putt to win by one stroke and avoid a playoff.

His win takes him to the top of the PGA points standings for the first time.

Dufner fired a 3-under 67 to finish on 11-under 269 and edge fellow American Dicky Pride by one stroke.

Leishman finished tied for third on 9-under 271.

"There were a lot of people making a lot of shots down the stretch," Dufner said.

"Luckily I had a nice chance at 18 to close it out. I had a good feel for the putt. I didn't want a playoff."

It was a drama-filled final round, starting from J.J.Henry's stunning hole-in-one on the par three fifth that catapulted him into the early lead.

Dufner had back-to-back bogeys at the second and third holes but then birdied the fourth and fifth as well as the par-5 seventh.

He went birdie-bogey to open the back nine and birdied the par-5 16th before his winning birdie at 18.

Leishman had a big day, birdieing the first, seventh and tenth before taking the lead at 10-under with another birdie on the 16th.

The lead didn't last, however, with the Australian missing a four-footer for par on the 17th - he finished with a 3-under 67.

Henry appeared to have the title in hand with birdies at 15 and 16 for a one-stroke lead at 11-under, but he went left off the tee at the 17th, missed a 27-footer for par then missed a 2 1/2-footer and took a double bogey.

American Dickie Pride was the next in line to grab the title, after he reeled off three straight birdies on 15, 16 and 17, then had a big escape at the last.

Pride hit the water with his tee-shot, but sank a 23-foot put for par to take the clubhouse lead at 10-under.

Finally Dufner got the job done with a perfectly -struck long putt on the last that drew roars from the crowd.

Leishman, Sweden's Jonas Blixt and Americans Joe Durant and J.J. Henry shared third on 271 with Americans Phil Mickelson and Ken Duke next on 274.

On April 29, Dufner won at New Orleans to end a long win drought that included squandering a late lead at last year's PGA Championship.

On May 5, Dufner married his girlfriend, Amanda Boyd.

And on Sunday (US time), he won the $1.17 million ($A1.19 million) top prize to join compatriot Hunter Mahan as the only multiple winners on the US PGA Tour this season.

"Two wins and to get married in the same month, it doesn't get much better professionally or personally," Dufner said.

AFP

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First posted May 21, 2012 09:59:30

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Day pushing for second Byron Nelson trophy

Updated May 20, 2012 11:07:52

Jason Day boosted his chances of a second Byron Nelson Championship victory after finishing the third round just a shot behind leader Jason Dufner in Irving, Texas.

American Dufner, the overnight leader by one shot, kept his composure after a slow start to move one stroke clear of a congested leaderboard in a wind-buffeted penultimate round.

Dufner, who clinched his maiden PGA Tour victory at the New Orleans Classic three weeks ago, carded a 1-under par 69 at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas for an 8-under total of 202.

The 35-year-old was one of nine players who held at least a share of the lead in the third round but he made no mistakes in gusting winds after recording a birdie at the 14th while his closest challengers slipped back.

Day three-putted the last for a 67 to slide back to 7-under, level with Americans JJ Henry (67) and Dicky Pride (69).

Fijian former world number one Vijay Singh was a further stroke back after firing a 66 while another Aussie Marc Leishman is at 5-under.

At one point on the back nine, Dufner shared the lead with Day, Pride, Leishman and American world number five Matt Kuchar but his birdie at the 14th was good enough to give him a one-stroke cushion going into the final round.

Day, who won his only PGA Tour title at the Byron Nelson Championship two years ago, was delighted with his position despite three-putting the final hole.

"I played great," the 24-year-old Australian said after mixing four birdies with the lone bogey.

"It was tough conditions out there with the wind, but I felt like I was trying to stay as patient as possible.

"I got away with a few shots out there, but overall I'm very, very happy with how the day went."

American world number 10 Phil Mickelson carded a 69 to lie six strokes off the pace at two under, one better than former world number one Ernie Els of South Africa, after a 70.

ABC/Reuters

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First posted May 20, 2012 11:07:52

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Dufner goes one ahead at Byron Nelson

Updated May 19, 2012 11:13:02

American Jason Dufner birdied four of his last five holes to go a stroke clear of a congested leaderboard after the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.

Three weeks after clinching his maiden PGA Tour victory at the New Orleans Classic, Dufner fired a 4-under-par 66 in the toughest conditions of the day to post a 7-under total of 133.

The laid-back American with the distinctive pre-shot waggle birdied 14, 15, 16 and 18 to finish ahead of compatriots Matt Kuchar (68), Chad Campbell (66), Ryan Palmer (70), Pat Perez (67) and Dicky Pride (68), plus Australian Marc Leishman (69).

Defending champion Keegan Bradley (68), fellow American Charley Hoffman (69) and Japan's Ryuji Imada (68) were a further stroke back at five under.

Jason Day is three shots off the lead after a consecutive round of 68 while Adam Scott failed to make the cut at 2-over along with Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Leonard and Yang Yong-eun.

Dufner was delighted to take control of the tournament after playing in the afternoon when the gusting winds were at their strongest.

"The wind picked up a good bit ... so made it premium on putting the ball in the fairway so you could be more aggressive into the greens," the 35-year-old told reporters after mixing seven birdies with three bogeys.

"It was a nice way to finish, and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I've played pretty solid ... not as clean as I would like today because of the conditions but I was able to grind it out and got fortunate there on the last couple of holes."

Dufner, who twice chipped in for birdie during the second round, plans to make the most of his triumphant experience in New Orleans as he bids for a second PGA Tour victory.

World number five Kuchar, who won his fourth PGA Tour title at the elite Players Championship on Sunday, was delighted to claw his way back into contention after dropping three shots in his first six holes.

"I got going on the wrong side of things," the 33-year-old said after ending the day with six birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-four 14th.

"A bogey on 12, that was a hard hole, and on 14 where the tee is up, it shouldn't be that hard. I made a double-bogey there, and it was going the wrong way.

"Glad to bounce back. At 16, the par-five, I took advantage of that so I'm pleased with the way I was able to hang in there."

American world number 10 Phil Mickelson and former world number one Ernie Els of South Africa each carded 69s to end the day six strokes off the pace.

Reuters

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First posted May 19, 2012 11:11:44

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Leishman lurking at Byron Nelson

Updated May 18, 2012 11:56:40

Twelve months after losing a playoff for the Byron Nelson Championship, Ryan Palmer had redemption on his mind after taking control of the tournament in Thursday's opening round.

The 35-year-old American made the most of ideal scoring conditions at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas in Texas, firing a flawless six-under-par 64 to grab a one-shot lead.

Australian Marc Leishman recorded a pair of eagles on his back nine to card a 65, ending a surprisingly calm day level with Germany's Alex Cejka who posted a bogey-free round.

Americans Scott Piercy, Charley Hoffman, Bill Lunde and Matt Kuchar - the world number five who won the Players Championship on Sunday - were among a group of seven players on four-under 66.

Though Palmer struggled with his driving over the last four holes on the challenging layout, he was delighted to stay at the top of the leaderboard, largely thanks to his superb short game.

"I had big pull hooks on my last four tee shots and I fought my way in," the Texan told reporters after making three birdies on each nine.

"I kinda locked up on my tee shots, but that's what the short game is there for, and fortunately it was good today. It's great to be in this spot again.

"Continuation from last year, that's what's cool about the whole thing. It was great. I felt great all morning, warm-up was great. I knew everything was going in the right direction.

A three-time champion on the PGA Tour, Palmer was beaten by compatriot Keegan Bradley on the first extra hole of last year's Byron Nelson Championship. This week, he is determined to respond in the best possible way.

"I keep telling myself, 'Redemption!'," Palmer smiled. "I didn't lose it last year by any means, but to get back in the same setting with the same people watching, here where I live, and just to have that feeling again....

"This time I want to be the guy standing with the trophy. That's been my focus ... leading up to the start of this tournament."

Leishman, who is bidding for his first victory on the PGA Tour, chipped in to eagle the par-four 11th and holed an eight-foot eagle putt at the par-five 16th to rocket up the leaderboard.

"It's nice having a real good chance for eagle, doesn't happen a whole lot," he said. "Both of the opportunities for eagle I had I was thinking about holing, and it's nice when they go in.

"I'm just trying to do what I can to give myself a chance (to win) really," added Leishman, who has twice been a runner-up on the PGA Tour at the 2009 BMW Championship and the 2010 Farmers Insurance Open.

Bradley launched his title defence with a 67 while American world number 10 Phil Mickelson and former world number one Ernie Els experienced mixed fortunes as they carded level-par 70s.

Left-hander Mickelson offset two birdies with two bogies, including his final hole where his drive and approach shot each ended up in bunkers, while South African Els clawed his way back after a bogey-bogey start.

"I'm frustrated that I'm letting shots slide here or there and I'm not capitalising on some birdie opportunities," said Mickelson.

"The course is in great shape and we had a perfect day.

"There are some low scores out there and plenty of birdies but I didn't take advantage of it."

Australian Jason Day had a frustrating round. The Queenslander was right in the mix at 5-under par after 16 holes, but a bogey on 17 and a double bogey on 18 pushed him back down the leaderboard to finish with a 2-under 68.

Reuters

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First posted May 18, 2012 11:36:24

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Aussies struggle early at Byron Nelson

Posted May 27, 2011 11:38:00

An expected Australian assault failed to materialise on the opening day of the US PGA Byron Nelson Championship in Texas as American Jeff Overton seized the first-round lead with a 6-under-par 64.

Despite the field featuring 14 Australians, including the defending champion Jason Day and several others who have their US base in Texas, they barely raised an eyebrow.

Low rounds were predicted as players were allowed to lift, clean and place balls on the fairway after massive thunderstorms and hail damage earlier in the week.

But despite being heavily tipped to fare well, the Australian contingent failed to take advantage.

A bogey-free round from Overton gave him a one-stroke lead over countryman Ryan Palmer (65) while nine others, headlined by Spanish star Sergio Garcia and big-hitting American Dustin Johnson, shot 4-under 66 to be tied third.

Robert Allenby, Nick O'Hern and Jarrod Lyle were the only Australians to post rounds under par, each shooting a 1-under 69 to be five shots off the pace.

"A low score was out there so I don't know why (the Australians didn't score low)," Lyle said.

"This is a course you can go low on but they had some tough pins today and the wind was a little flukey."

Day, a Dallas resident, made a double-bogey on his last hole to end up with a 2-over 72.

In-form John Senden, another honorary Texan who was fresh off a top-10 finish at the Crown Plaza Invitational last week, had five bogeys before his first birdie but he battled back with two further birdies and an eagle to end up with an even-par 70.

Nathan Green, another 'local', could not continue the form he used to qualify for the British Open earlier this week, carding a disappointing five-over 75.

Rod Pampling (70), Greg Chalmers (73), Steve Elkington (73) and Steven Bowditch (75) also failed to use local knowledge to their advantage.

Australians without ties to the area also failed to light up the course, including Marc Leishman (70), Michael Sim (71), Cameron Percy (71) and Aron Price (77).

- AAP

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