Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



The Loop

Jason Dufner wins thanks to remarkable recovery shot from the rocks

January 24, 2016

How hard is it to win on the PGA Tour? Jason Dufner had to wait 47 starts to pick up another title after capturing the 2013 PGA Championship. And his victory at the CareerBuilders Challenge on Sunday required a recovery shot the likes of which we've never quite seen.

Tied late in the final round, Dufner's tee shot on the par-3 17th at PGA West's Stadium Course went long and into the hazard. However, it hung up in the rocks that guard the green and Dufner was able to get a club on it. He then did this:

Wow. Crazy shot. Perfect reaction. Dufner actually got robbed by the ball not dropping -- not that he was complaining walking away with a par after that tee shot.

He'd make another scrambling par on the first hole of a playoff, getting up-and-down from 112 yards. Another par on the second playoff hole gave Dufner the win over David Lingmerth, who shot 62-65 over the weekend, but found the water with his approach on the 74th hole and made double bogey.

But none of it would have happened without Dufner's wild shot, dubbed "the escape from Alcatraz" by NBC/Golf Channel's Dan Hicks.