Jason Dufner

On Sunday the American Jason Dufner won the PGA Championship to record his first major win. This week’s player profile takes a look at Dufner’s career milestones as he celebrates his most important victory to date.

36-year-old Dufner was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in several cities before his family settled in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The sunny weather and abundant golf facilities sparked the young Dufner’s interest in the game, and by the time he was a high school senior he had decided to take up golf as a career.

Following a successful college golf career Dufner turned professional in 2001, joining the second-tier Nationwide Tour (also known as the Web.com Tour) in his debut season. Since then, the American has won a total of five professional events in North America.

Dufner took to professional golf from the get-go, weathering the competition to win his first victory in his debut year at the 2001 Wichita Open. After moving between the Nationwide and PGA tours during the first few years of his professional career, Dufner won again at the 2006 LaSalle Bank Open.

Although Dufner has been a regular contender at PGA Tour events since the early 2000’s, his game truly began to flourish in the 2011 season. After recording several top-10 finishes that season, including a second-place finish at the PGA Championship, Dufner had his first taste of victory on the Tour in 2012 when he won two events: the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Byron Nelson Championship.

Sunday’s victory at the PGA Championship is an important milestone in Dufner’s career. With the inconsistency of his early career seemingly over, the easy-going champion may emerge as a regular winner on the Tour in the coming seasons.

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