THE 187TH TIME IS THE CHARM

By Torleif Sorenson on 6/25/13

Ken Duke's first-ever PGA Tour victory required 74 holes on Sunday afternoon, rather than the usual 72, but five birdies kept him alive when he needed it. At the 10th hole, Duke got an unbelievable break when his wedge shot conked off a tree to within a couple of feet of the jar. Duke was in the scorer's trailer when Texas-native Chris Stroud chipped in from 51 feet to tie Duke at -12, forcing a playoff.

Both players made par on the first playoff hole, but on the second, Duke stuck the landing of his second shot like an Olympic gymnast. When Stroud missed a lengthy birdie putt, Duke calmly sank his four-footer.

"Yeah, it's been a long time. I've been on the Canadian Tour, the mini tours, Asian Tour, South American Tour, all of them; Web.com, and it's just great to be a part of this big family on the PGA Tour."

With his first Tour victory, Duke is exempt for two years and qualifies for automatic entries into a bunch of tournaments, including the one in Augusta, Georgia next April.

The check for $1,098,000.00 probably doesn't bother him, either.


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Image via Twitter, Ken Duke

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