Jason Dufner: in the bag

In the shadow of the NFL Playoffs, the PGA Tour had a hard fought playoff of their own.

Dufner took just 22 putts in his round at the challenging PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course, one of three layouts used in the tournament.

Then Dufner went and almost made the thing. Lingmerth shot a 62 on Saturday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to pull within five shots of Dufner. His path to victory included clutch shots including this one off the rocks and onto the 17th green to save par and remain tied for the lead. He initially left his caddy on the tee, thinking he was going to have to hit another tee shot, but Dufner caught a break by having a swing at the ball.

“I’m glad the luck turned a little bit for me, and has come my direction”, Dufner said. “I’ll try and get it up-and-down and extend it'”.

On the first extra hole (the par-4 18th, ) Dufner again looked to be up against it as he found sand from the tee. Lingmerth, meanwhile, hit his second shot within 20 feet of the pin. Over 54 holes, Dufner, unlike many of his closest pursuers, doesn’t have the advantage of eagles on the many reachable par-5s in the three-course rotation, but he’s drained 26 birdies. The 38-year-old, looking for his first victory since the 2013 USPGA Championship, struck back though with three birdies in a row for the turn.

“I didn’t choke up on the club enough and the grass just grabbed it a bit”.

They returned to the 18th for their second playoff hole.

“It’s pretty tough, there are great players out here”, he said. “It’s kind of like what we see in the Presidents Cup in match play, because if I miss it, there’s no next putt, and it doesn’t really matter”.

It was a playoff that Dufner barely managed to make.

Play began at 10:30am, nearly three hours behind schedule, with 60 golfers – including four of the world’s top six – still to finish their second round following a similarly late start on Friday. Fowler won The Players Championship, the Scottish Open and the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2015.

“It was probably like one in 50 million that the ball ends up there”, he said.

Hadwin, who finished fourth after playing in the final group at the 2011 PGA Canadian Open, hopes for a fast start on Sunday. I feel comfortable now. “It really wasn’t a bad swing, I don’t think. It felt easier off the tee”.

Phil Mickelson was tied for fifth at 17. Lefty will play the next three events, starting next week at Torrey Pines in his hometown of San Diego. Some guy with apparently nothing better to do than be snide, responded, “When’s the last time you won?”