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Keegan Bradley gets last laugh on Jason Dufner with first-round 60

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:11:00 GMT

The ongoing (friendly) battle between Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner heated up this week, first with some Twitter banter and then with a head-to-head showdown during the first round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship where, as the third man in the group, Matt Kuchar was forced to mediate.

As far as we can tell, the rivalry dates back to the 2011 PGA Championship, when Bradley defeated Dufner in a three-hole aggregate playoff at Atlanta Athletic Club. It gained traction thanks to Dufner's consistent and creative teasing of Bradley's love of Boston sports, and Bradley's success in making the act of Dufnering a national phenomenon. Keegan poked fun at Dufner during Monday night's Bruins game with this tweet, followed by Dufner's dry reply.

Bradley's record on the PGA Tour certainly trumps that of Dufner, a fact that was reinforced by Bradley's first-round 10-under 60 to Dufner's even-par 70. With that 10-shot whooping, Bradley got Dufner back for this Thursday morning prank that Bradley shared via his Instagram account.

Emptying Keegan's bag? Really, Duf Daddy? You can do better than that.

What makes Bradley's 60 in Dufner's company all the more sweet (at least for Bradley fans) is that he outdrove Duf by an average of 14.9 yards. As most golfers know, the best way to settle a friendly dispute is with a long drive contest. Dufner hit it past Bradley only once (on the 1st hole, their 10th), and proceeded to hole out from 129 yards for eagle, so there's a little consolation for the expressionless one. But Bradley hit it past Dufner by 27 yards on the seventh hole (320 to 293) and 34 yards on the 12th (307 to 273). That hurts. So does the 10-shot beat down. Sorry Dufner fans, chalk another one up for Keegan.

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Analyze This

E. Michael Johnson — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Inside Jason Dufner's surprisingly methodical approach to testing new equipment.

The not-so-many faces of Jason Dufner

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:10:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

A somewhat unfortunate picture of a sad-looking Jason Dufner visting a youth center in Dallas surfaced today on Deadspin. The article reports that Dufner was in town as part of media day for the Byron Nelson Championship, an event in which Dufner is the defending champion.

But while Dufner couldn't have looked more miserable doing a bit of charity, what the story doesn't mention is that this is basically how he always looks. Here, we analyze the "different" looks Dufner exhibits during a variety of situations.

Dufner hitting a great shot:

Dufner hitting a terrible shot:

Dufner cracking a really funny joke:

Dufner answering questions at a press conference:

Dufner winning his first ever PGA Tour event last year in New Orleans. Go crazy, Jason!

Dufner loosening up:

Dufner getting the most pumped up he's ever been. Forgive him, it was Ryder Cup week:

Dufner holding a koala bear. Wait, where the heck did this one come from?!

And finally, Dufner cracking a semi-smile while standing with his gorgeous wife, Amanda:

So kids, don't take it personally. Unless he's in the company of his beautiful wife or a furry marsupial, don't expect Jason Dufner to even think about looking happy.

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May 2013 Table of Contents

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

There's benefit in using oversize grips

Derek Evers — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:06:00 GMT

By John Strege Oversize and non-tapered, SuperStroke putter grips are growing in popularity among professional golfers. The movement largely began with Jason Dufner finishing second at the 2011 PGA Championship using one. At the...

A highly personalized wedge

Derek Evers — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:34:00 GMT

By E. Michael JohnsonWedge issue: Vokey's TVD-K has many, many options. Want to look like a tour player but lack a PGA Tour card? Titleist's new Vokey Design TVD-K wedges ($160 and up) let...

More tour success, new models for SuperStroke

John Strege — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:48:00 GMT

By John Strege Those who watched the Northern Trust Open on Sunday might have noticed the white over-sized grips that Charlie Beljan and Fredrik Jacobson had on their putters. Beljan finished second (losing in...

Golf World's 2012 Newsmakers of The Year

GolfDigest.com — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Taking stock of 2012 by counting down the year's 25 biggest headliners.

Huggan: Will the real Rory McIlroy please stand up?

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:59:00 GMT

By John Huggan

Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

MEDINAH, Ill. -- "They're playing well; they're having fun."

That was US captain Davis Love's smiling verdict on the so-far dominating performance of his own side as the second series of four-ball matches in this 39th Ryder Cup neared their conclusion. Across the way, however, things were very different. For the increasingly beleaguered European side, led by world number one Rory McIlroy, the defense of Samuel Ryder's gold trophy has been hard going almost from the very first tee-shot.

Anything else would have been at least mildly surprising, even in the wake of what was his second victory in four matches, but McIlroy was looking pretty fed up. More than that, the 23-year old Ulsterman appeared flat, done in and unlikely to be fully prepared -- either mentally or physically -- for yet another Ryder Cup match less than 24 hours later.

Even the presence of the ever-lively Ian Poulter alongside him in their four-ball encounter with Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson had failed to rejuvenate one of golf's most appealing figures. His making a mere two birdies during a tough last-green win over the Americans was proof enough of that fact. Only two birdies? On a course with little or no rough? Will the real Rory please stand up?

Which is not to say, through what has clearly been a fairly traumatic two days, that McIlroy ever stopped giving his all, or making all the right noises.

"I'll really enjoy the intensity Ian brings," he said just after a morning loss with his compatriot and close pal, Graeme McDowell. "I'll enjoy feeding off him. We'll feed off each other hopefully and try to get a blue point on the board."

Related: Rory McIlory swing sequence

But it wasn't to be, even when Poulter turned the game by finishing with an astonishing five successive birdies. While the glorious McIlroy rhythm and swing were flowing as smoothly as ever, there was no spark or life about the two time major champion's game. Especially on the greens, where a succession of makeable putts slid by without ever really looking as if they might drop, it was a struggle. On the last green his putt for birdie came up short, which aptly summed up his day.

Still, McIlroy was understandably happy with the eventual result, even if its sole purpose was to pull the visiting side to within four points of their hosts with only 12 singles matches to play.

"It was great to be a part of that," he said. "Ian was incredible and deserves all the credit for our win."

Significantly, he didn't have much to say about his own play. For once, the world's best golfer looked like nothing more than a young man in need of his bed.

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Bradley embodies Ryder Cup passion

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:46:00 GMT

By Dave Kindred

MEDINAH, Ill. -- It's always fun to be present at the birth of a star. So come to the 13th tee the first morning of this Ryder Cup. There, on the 245-yard hole, Keegan Bradley struck a 4-wood tee shot. It left Phil Mickelson a 15-foot putt for birdie.

Bradley is a Ryder Cup rookie, 26 years old. He was proud of what he'd done. He handed the club to his caddie and took his place at the back of the tee. He stood there admiring the work.

Next to him was Mickelson. One of the game's best ever, 42 years old, the Ryder Cup veteran stole a sideways glance at the kid, a kid who'd won big things, who has said he learned to win in early-week money games with Mickelson, once his mentor, now his friend and partner.

Then Mickelson did a little thing that makes the Ryder Cup what it is.

He reached over and patted the kid on the butt.

You know what Bradley did?

Nothing. He kept looking at the distant green, chin up, eyes alight, unblinking. Tell you what, Bradley Keegan was INTO that moment.

Yes, yes, the Ryder Cup is the whole patriotic deal, red, white, blue, USA USA USA. It's the United States' best 12 players against Europe's 12. All that patriotic balderdash, you can have it if you need it. But what makes the Ryder Cup worth seeing are moments when the best players in the world reveal themselves to be something other than money-grabbing robots.

Related: Keegan Bradley Swing Sequence

It's not so much that we see them suffer with poor shots born of frazzled nerves, though we saw that quickly. The day's first tee shot, by Graeme McDowell, went way left. The second tee shot, by Jim Furyk, went left of that, and Tiger Woods's first drive went left of the left that we thought was way left. All morning, in the alternate-shot foursome competition, Steve Stricker peered from behind trees, left in jail by Tiger's errant missiles; as they came off the seventh green, so miserable was Woods, Stricker reached out to encourage the poor guy with a pat on his butt. (Who'd have ever thunk?)

Still, we see nerves in every U.S. Open. The difference here is that we also see what we never see in an Open or a Masters. We see the players as jocks. We see the wonderful Jason Dufner, famously stoic. We see him leave a putt on the right edge of the 9th hole, maybe close enough that a whisper would move it over the cliff's edge. We see Dufner tighten those already tightened lips. And he takes a step toward the hole. Will the ball fall in? He takes another. "And, to be honest with you," he said later, "I almost felt like the roar of the crowd ... actually willed that ball into the hole because it felt like the crowd's cheer came from the right and the ball kind of fell into the hole." Here, Dufner smiled. Really. Smiled. And bumped fists with his partner, Zach Johnson, and they birdied the 10th, too. They defeated Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari, 3 and 2, and, if U.S. captain Davis Love III had done the imaginative, bold thing, he'd have sent Dufner/Johnson out for the afternoon four-ball instead of Woods/Stricker.

We saw the Dufner fist-bump. Then we saw Mickelson slap Keegan's ass and we loved it all because we've seen a zillion sweaty, dirty baseball players do it out of habit but here, in golf, where everything is manicured, it's the last thing we expect to see. Would Hogan slap Snead's ass? Nicklaus Watson's? Woods Mickelson's?

Then, on the 13th green, Mickelson knocked in the birdie putt.

Related: Viral GIF: Phil encouraging Keegan

Know what Keegan did this time? He sprinted toward the old man, leaped into a chest-bump, hugged him, knocked his cap sideways, and generally left Mickelson happier than he'd been since the Ryder Cup gala when his wife, Amy, eagled the runway in a gown spun from gold (looked that way).

The 13th was the second of four straight holes that Mickelson and Bradley won. Once 1-down, they went on that streak to beat Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, 4 and 3. For Donald and Garcia, it was their first defeat in 16 Ryder Cup foursomes matches. For Mickelson and Bradley, it was the beginning of a partnership that Love liked so much that he sent the pair out again in the afternoon.

Mickelson was all but giddy after the morning round. "We were just so ready to get on the first tee," he said. Of Bradley, he said, "He played some of the best golf and to be his partner was an awesome experience. I love -- love playing with this man. He's just so much fun, loves the game, and plays with such excitement. And, man, can he roll the rock."

Bradley made four putts for winning birdies. He said, "I feel so comfortable out here with Phil because I know, wherever I hit it, he's going to be able to get it up-and-down, or close for me."

Comfortable they were, even thrilled. At the 13th, where Bradley had put it close and Mickelson had knocked it in, they left the green trading hand-slaps done with such enthusiasm that the sound must have frightened small animals for miles around. The hand-slaps evolved into another embrace that -- forgive me this excess if excess it be -- that seemed to be a transfer of energy from the kid to the old man. (Yes, excess. But there you go.)

Energized, they were, this twosome, and they did a fabulous encore in the afternoon four-ball, winning 2-and-1 over the Euro's best, McIlroy and McDowell. Bradley, on fire, contributed six birdies the first 16 holes -- and then became Mickelson's lead cheerleader on the par-3 17th, a 193-yarder over a pond.

McIlroy had put his tee shot to within 15 feet, seeming to give his side some hope of escaping with a half-point. But Mickelson did what Mickelson can do -- he dropped a high floater two feet from the cup. "Just hit a solid, penetrating iron shot," he said, "and that baby was all over the stick."

The partners embraced coming off the tee, arms around each other's shoulders, and Keegan said later, "That last shot showed why Phil Mickelson is a Hall of Famer."

After the morning round, the game's newest star called it "one of the most memorable days of my life ... so far."

And at day's end, asked if he had any energy left, Bradley Keegan said, "Oh, baby. I wish I could go 36 more."

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