PGA Tour: Dufner tops Lingmerth in playoff

A remarkable escape on a hole called Alcatraz allowed Jason Dufner to stay alive in the CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation Sunday.

Jason Dufner claimed his first tournament win since the 2013 PGA Championship with play-off victory at the CareerBuilder Challenge in California. He shot a 64 on Thursday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course for a share of the lead, had a 65 on Friday on the Stadium Course to take a one-shot advantage, and added a 64 on Saturday at La Quinta Country Club to pull two shots ahead.

“I’m probably a week away, if I’m being honest”, Mickelson said.

Dufner started the day as joint leader on eight under and made hay on the front nine, peppering his card with birdies at holes one, two, five, seven, eight and nine. Best player in the world?

“So, yeah, it was up and down, I definitely left a few shots out there”, said Lahiri of his second round in his first event on the PGA Tour in 2016.

That potential monster of a hole played at its full 165-yard length Sunday, and without incident for the most part until Dufner arrived, tied at 25 under with Lingmerth, who had just parred 17.

Dufner, Lovemark and Hadwin will play in the final threesome, which is scheduled to tee off at 11:05 a.m. from the first tee at the TPC Stadium Course.

Another stroke back was five-times Major victor Phil Mickelson, who returned a 65 and said that despite a belated start to his season he was nearing top form.

Dufner switched to a driver and followed Lingmerth into a grass bunker on the right side.

“I feel good about where my game is”.

It was not Dufner’s best day of golf, but he felt like one of the best players in the world regardless.

After hitting his tee shot into the rocks surrounding an island green, luckily evading water, he somehow managed to find a decent lie and produced a superb chip shot which hit the flag and nearly went in, instead tapping in for an unlikely par. “There’s some long rounds out here”.

Dufner’s total of 23-under puts him two clear of Jamie Lovemark, while Canada’s Adam Hadwin sits third three off the pace.

Hitting pinpoint approaches and putting superbly, the 38-year-old picked up further shots at the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and the ninth to double his overnight lead. Before this week, he finished T9 in his last two starts at The RSM Classic and last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii.

His birdie on the 16th was crucial to forcing a play-off, while he produced the shot of the round on the 17th after driving the ball off the tee into the rock outline and narrowly missing the water with his first shot.