“The game’s changed, hitting it far has become a skill” Former PGA Championship Winner Jason Dufner reflects on his time at the Oak Hill Golf Course
Jason Dufner's biggest moment in his career came in 2013 when he claimed the PGA Championship, his only major championship. 10 years later, he was asked if he still thinks about that moment.
"I don’t think about it too often. Not unless someone brings it up," said Dufner as per National Club Golfer.
This year, PGA Championship is returning to the Oak Hill Country Club after a decade. Dufner confirmed that he hadn't been here since his triumph in 2013.
He was quoted saying via National Club Golfer:
"I’ve heard there’s been changes to the golf course and it’s a completely different venue than what I’m going to remember from 2013, but it’ll be fun to go back and relive a little bit of what happened that year and to be reminded of the success I had there.”
"The golf courses, a lot of the time, fit my style of play. The game’s changed – hitting it far has become a skill that wasn’t necessarily a skill 10 years ago. We had some guys who hit it far but nobody was really training to hit it far, so that’s changed a lot about how we approach tournaments."
As per Dufner, he has had more success in majors on the courses where distance was not the advantage.
"The longer hitters may have been hitting an iron where I was hitting driver, but the PGA and US Open always seemed to be [played on courses] where guys are hitting approaches from the same position. Oak Hill was certainly one of those."
Dufner has had three top-five finishes at the PGA Championship. Before winning the 2013 Championship, he had T5 and a runner-up finish in 2010 and 2011. He also finished at T27 in 2012. The only other major he has had top 10 finishes is US Open where he ended at T4 in 2012 and 2013.
The 46-year-old golfer also believed that he had more chances in these two majors. He told National Club Golfer:
"I always felt like the US Open would be where I could win majors – and the PGA, at times, has that same style golf course as well."
How did Jason Dufner perform in other majors?
While PGA Championship was Jason Dufner's most successful major, he didn't have much success in other majors. Barring PGA Championship and US Open, he didn't have a top finish in the other two majors.
In 2013, he finished T-20 at the Masters. In 2013, he finished in the top 30 in each of his majors, which was his finest year. Dufner never placed in the top 20 in the Open Championship, and his best finish came in 2016 when he finished T22.
In his career, the 2013 PGA Championship winner has won five titles on PGA Tour and his last title came in the 2017 Memorial Tournament. where he beat Rickie Fowler and Anirban Lahiri by a three-shot margin. Currently, he is competing at the AT&T Byron Nelson in TPC Craig Ranch.