Tyrrell Hatton leads by five at the Abu Dhabi Championship

NAPA, Calif. – Jason Dufner played a game predicated on precision, and it worked. He racked up five PGA TOUR victories, including the 2013 PGA Championship. But Dufner is 44 now, and his last victory was more than four years ago. Determined to make the most of whatever time he had left on the PGA TOUR, he sought out Vancouver-based rotational strength and conditioning specialist Jason Glass last September to try to gain speed and distance. “I’m 45 years old, almost, trying to compete with guys that are 15, 20 years younger than me,” Dufner said after shooting an even-par 72 in the second round of the Fortinet Championship, where at 5 under he is seven behind leader Maverick McNealy (64). “You don’t see that in sports very often. A couple cases here and there, but distance has really changed the game.” He hasn’t made any miracle gains but said he’s picked up around 5 or 6 mph of clubhead speed. “In my practice, on the range, I’m hitting 118, 119, 120,” he said, “which I’ve never really hit in my career before. Hopefully that should translate to some easier play, possibly.” Some easier play would be a welcome change. Dufner, once in the top tier of American players, dropped to 154th in the FedExCup last season, and 390th in the world. Part of that was because the game changed. “Back in the day the top 50 were the top 50, right, those guys were good at everything,” Dufner said. “And then after that you could kind of manage and navigate your way through with some different skills that didn’t involve distance, if you’re a good pitcher and chipper and shot-maker. “But now you’re seeing guys coming out of college,” he continued, “when they first turn pro, they’re all over 170, 175 ball speed. It just makes it significantly easier; it’s hard to keep up with that when guys are hitting sand wedges and you’re hitting 8-iron.” To begin to close that gap, Dufner found rotational-strength coach Glass through mutual acquaintances. They don’t live near one another and work together only virtually, but so far, so good. His new commitment to working out, which Dufner admits he doesn’t enjoy, is starting to bear fruit. “It took me six or seven months to actually notice, because I had to build a foundation,” he said, “but starting in June or July I started to see some significant gains.” After averaging 286.2 yards in driving distance in 2019, he was up to 289.6 last season. If he maintains his momentum it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect something in the low to mid 290s this season. Such incremental gains, while they may look miniscule, tend to add up over time. No, he’s not going to scare Bryson DeChambeau, but Dufner is determined not to fade away.

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Welcome to the Monday Finish, the day after one native Ohioan (Cleveland-born Jason Dufner) dug deep in winning on the Golden Bear’s home course while another (Akron-born LeBron James) saw his Cavs dig a 2-0 hole by losing on Golden State’s home court. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Not sure how many recent PGA TOUR winners have endured the kind of rollercoaster ride Jason Dufner experienced at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. After 36 holes, he led by 5 shots. After 54 holes, he trailed by 4 shots. After 72 holes, he won by 3 shots. Talk about highs and lows. For a guy who’s always displayed a fairly low-key disposition (Dufnering, anyone?), it had to be challenging to keep his emotions in check. Even Dufner acknowledged being angry after his Saturday 5-over 77 sent him tumbling down the leaderboard. So he went to the range to burn off some steam and release some frustration. “I didn’t want to go home mad,â€� he said. It paid big dividends. He came back on Sunday with a positive outlook … and ultimately, a winning performance. 2. Tom Weiskopf (born in Massillon) couldn’t do it in 11 starts at Muirfield Village. His best finish was a T-4 in 1980, three shots behind David Graham. Ben Curtis (born in Columbus) couldn’t do it in 13 starts. Same number of attempts for Steve Flesch (born in Cincinnati). John Cook (born in Toledo) had 24 starts and couldn’t do it. He tied for second in 2002 and was solo third in 1994. Until Sunday, tournament founder/course designer/Mr. Columbus Jack Nicklaus had been the only Ohio-born winner of the Memorial. Dufner, in his sixth appearance at Muirfield Village, now becomes the second. “I grew up here,â€� Dufner said after his win. “I wasn’t living here for a long time. I moved away when I was about 9 or 10. But I have a lot of friends and family here, a lot of support out on the golf course. It’s hard to have equal support when you’re playing with Rickie Fowler, but I felt like I had it today.â€� 3. It’ll be fun to watch the fluctuations in the Presidents Cup standings for the rest of the season. Dunfer’s win allowed him to move from 25th to 6th, while Matt Kuchar’s T-4 moved him from 14th to 10th in the U.S. Team standings. The top 10 players after the Dell Technologies Championship – the second event in the FedExCup Playoffs – will get automatic spots for the Presidents Cup. There was no movement inside the top 10 for the International Team. The most significant move belonged to India’s Anirban Lahiri, who closed with the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, to tie for second. That elevated him from 22nd to 15th, and no doubt caused captain Nick Price to take notice. Lahiri was on the International Team two years ago, the first player from his country to make the team. Alas, he lost all three of his matches – including his singles match to Chris Kirk that reached the 18th hole. The U.S. won by just a single point. A better performance could’ve been the difference. No wonder Lahiri would like another crack at the U.S. squad. “I have unfinished business,â€� Lahiri said. “I’ve said that before. I would like nothing better than to go out there and get points.â€� 4. Call it the power of a handshake. Daniel Summerhays, looking for his first win in his 185th start on TOUR, suffered through a miserable Sunday. Having entered the final round with a 3-shot lead, he dropped three shots in his first four holes, and then after making the turn, dropped five more strokes on the back nine. A double bogey at the 18th left him signing for a 6-over 78, barely hanging on to a top-10 finish. But there was Jack Nicklaus greeting him after his round, helping to brighten up a frustrating afternoon. “He’s looking me straight in the eyes and giving me encouragement,â€� Summerhays said. “I’ll bounce back really quick. A handshake and a little something from Jack Nicklaus will prove to be very useful.â€� 5. In December of 2015, Columbus resident Jason Day and his wife Ellie were sitting on the front row of a Cavs home game when LeBron James chased after a loose ball toward the sidelines. James knocked over Ellie, who had to be taken to a hospital. Released the next day, she compared it to a minor car accident. On Wednesday, Jason will be back on the front row for Game 3 of the Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals. Ellie will not be in harm’s way this time. “The wife isn’t coming,â€� Jason said with a laugh. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Jason Dufner is one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR. No surprise that his iron play was key to Sunday’s win at Muirfield Village. Dufner ranked first in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. He gained an average of 2.670 strokes each round on the field in that category. That’s the most by a TOUR winner this season. It’s the third time this year the eventual tournament winner has led the field in that category. 2. Speaking of hitting greens … Dufner hit 17 of 18 greens in his opening round. That’s the 14th time he’s gone 17 of 18 in a single round in his TOUR career. 3. It was a legendary bounce-back performance for Dufner on Sunday, who shot a 4-under 68 after shooting a 77 the previous round. Since 1983, only one tournament winner (non-major) has ever shot a third-round score higher than Dufner’s 77. That came at the 1986 Honda Classic, when Kenny Knox shot 80 on Saturday, then followed it up with a 70 to win by a stroke at TPC Eagle Trace. Knox’s 80 came on a day in which nobody in the field could break par. The best score was a couple of even-par 72s. Of the 72 players who made the cut, 37 ended up shooting 80 or higher in the third round, Unlike Dufner, who suffered a swing of 9 shots (5-shot lead to 4-shot deficit), Knox had a less dramatic swing. He went from a 1-shot lead to a 2-shot deficit. 4. Rickie Fowler’s last drive of the tournament went 350 yards. But it wasn’t his longest drive of the week. Fowler busted a 370-yard drive at the 13th hole in the first round. Overall, he had 22 drives of 300 yards or longer. Here’s the kicker – he actually dropped four spots on the TOUR’s driving distance ranking this season, going from 27th to 31st. Even with all those 300-yard drives, his overall average went from 299.7 yards to 299.2 yards. 5. Not sure if you caught the cut differential but it was pretty amazing. Dufner led at 14 under after 36 holes. The cut was 3 over. The 17-stroke difference not only was a tournament record, it was the first time in 12 years that it’s been that large at any event. The last time there was a 17-stroke difference after 36 holes was in 2005 at Harbour Town. Darren Clarke led at 12 under, and the cut was 5 over. TOP 3 VIDEOS 1. Rickie Fowler’s shot from the bunker behind 18 green on Thursday sidespun its way into an impossible birdie. 2. In the middle of an all-time great two-day stretch at Muirfield Village, Dufner’s shot on 18 fit in nicely. 3. Dufner picked the perfect time to drain his longest putt of the week, pouring one in for par to lock up his fifth TOUR win.

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The Wells Fargo Championship returns to the PGA TOUR schedule after being cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Homa returns to defend his title against a field full of TOUR stars, including current FedExCup leader Bryson DeChambeau. FIELD NOTES: Two-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy returns to action for the first time since the Masters. McIlroy also is the Wells Fargo Championship’s only two-time winner. He set a course record in each win, shooting a final-round 62 in 2010 and a third-round 61 in 2015… The top two players in the FedExCup – DeChambeau and Justin Thomas – are teeing it up in North Carolina. Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship contested at Quail Hollow… Phil Mickelson will tee it up at the Wells Fargo for the 17th time in 18 editions. He missed the cut in 2017 but owns 12 top-12 finishes at the event… Sponsors exemptions include 19-year-old Akshay Bhatia, a North Carolina native, and Wake Forest alum Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris hasn’t missed a cut in the 2021 calendar year but enjoyed two weeks off after finishing runner-up at the Masters and T42 at the RBC Heritage – buying his own place in Dallas and getting engaged. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. STORYLINES: No golfer has ever defended his title at the Wells Fargo. Homa, who won at The Genesis Invitational earlier this year, looks to buck that trend. He arrives in good form, sitting in third place halfway through the Valspar Championship… Overall, 13 of the top 20 golfers in the FedExCup (through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans) are teeing it up at Quail Hollow… Rory McIlroy loves the Wells Fargo Championship. He’s finished outside the top-10 just twice in nine starts and in 2019 he finished T8… Rickie Fowler is looking for a spark after recording just two top-10 finishes in 29 events across 2020-21. Fowler, who is now ranked outside the top 100 in the world, won his first TOUR title at the Wells Fargo in 2012 and finished T4 in 2019…This year’s Wells Fargo will give players one last look at Quail Hollow before the 2022 Presidents Cup. Next year’s Wells Fargo will be played at TPC Potomac as Quail Hollow prepares to host the intercontinental tussle between the U.S. and International teams. It will be the first Presidents Cup since 2019 in Royal Melbourne, when the International Team took the lead into Singles but was overcome by the United States in the final session. COURSE: Quail Hollow Club, par 71, 7,521 yards. The long-time PGA TOUR stop was originally laid out by George Cobb in the early 1960s. An upgrade was overseen by Tom Fazio as the course prepared for the PGA Championship in 2017. Annually rated as one of the toughest courses on TOUR, its ‘Green Mile’ closing stretch of holes flummoxes TOUR players year after year. Quail Hollow is set to host The Presidents Cup in 2022 and the PGA Championship again in 2025. 72-HOLE RECORD: 267, Rory McIlroy (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Rory McIlroy (3rd round, 2015). LAST TIME: Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship saw Max Homa capture his maiden PGA TOUR title. Homa, the former NCAA champ who endured a difficult slump early in his pro career, shot a 4-under 67 in Sunday’s final round to top Joel Dahmen by three shots. Homa, who started the final round as one of three co-leaders, trailed Dahmen through six holes. But after going 3 under in a five-hole stretch, he held a four-shot lead before a weather delay with just five holes to play. After the hour-long delay was completed, Homa nailed a 5-foot par saver and cruised to victory after that. Justin Rose finished third while Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Jason Dufner rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete.

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