Jason Dufner had 17 feet remaining to finish off his Players week and claim a nice pay day, but his round didn’t end as smoothly as it could have.
Dufner was tied for second on the 72nd hole, and although he likely wasn’t going to catch Webb Simpson, a solo second at the Players was still worth $1.188 million.
Dufner missed his 17-footer for birdie. Fair enough. Those are no gimmes. But he then stood over a five-footer for several extra seconds before yipping it and missing left. Even the broadcast team noticed his uncertainty over the putt. Here’s a video of his par attempt.
@JasonDufner with a little yippidy do da on 18….oh if he could putt he would be dangerous. pic.twitter.com/VICrtiPGu1
— Steve Scott (@sscottpga) May 13, 2018
Dufner, who still had a great putting week, finishing third in Strokes Gained, cleaned up his bogey, tossed his ball into the water and walked off the green for a four-under 68. His T5 finish was worth $418,000, but sinking that five-footer for par would have netted $308,000 more — $726,000 was the payout for a four-way tie for second. Making his initial birdie putt would have been worth the solo-second prize money of $1.188 million.
So, Dufner did lose some cash (and Ryder Cup points), but he’s already banked $1.379 million on the season and has six top 25s. The Players was still another solid week for the 41-year-old.
