THE RIGHT DUF: Jason Dufner, teeing off on the third hole (above) in yesterday’s PGA Championship third round, started an Internet craze with his pose during a school appearance in March. (
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PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Jason Dufner’s deadpan expression on the 18th green yesterday upon the completion of his PGA Championship third round at Oak Hill was an updated version of what already has become all the rage in golf — “Dufnering.’’
Dufner, the frumpy, slouched-shouldered golfer with the perpetual expressionless look on his face who has become a cult figure of sorts in his sport, for the second consecutive day had a chance to break out of his patented dullard mold and do something different — show some emotion, smile, gasp, do a cartwheel.
Anything.
We, however, would get nothing and like it.
On the same green that Dufner left his 12-foot birdie putt to set the major championship record-low round of 62 a tantalizing two feet short on Friday, he buried a significant six-foot par-save putt yesterday that he actually appeared to have missed, but gravity magically pulled it into the hole after it had passed the cup.
Dufner, as he did when he departed the 18th green Friday after having nearly left his two-footer for 63 short, sauntered off looking more like a guy doing his grocery shopping than someone in contention to win his first major. The look on Dufner’s face said: “I had that one all the way.’’
Sure he did.
Dufner might not show any outward emotion, but he is human and he feels major championship weekend pressure. That par-save putt on 18 kept him at 8-under and within one shot of leader Jim Furyk (9-under) entering today’s final round.
Dufner views his way of masking his emotions as a strength, and something Furyk, with whom he’s paired in the final group today, also possesses.
“I don’t think there is a guy out here when you are playing in these major championships that doesn’t feel the pressure,’’ Dufner said. “There is a lot at stake to play well. There is a lot of pressure. Some guys show it; some guys hide it. Me and Jim hide it pretty well. Guys just deal with it differently. I think it just comes from your personalities.
“I’ve just always been that way. There [were] a couple of times [yesterday] where I was pretty frustrated with things, little I guess perturbed you could say, with the way things were going. In a major championship especially, you have got to plod along. If you lose your head out there you can lose track and all of a sudden you are kicking yourself the next day because you are out of the tournament. I think it’s important to stay even keel for the most part.’’
Don’t let Dufner’s appearance or his flat-line personality fool you.
“He’s one of the funniest guys out here,’’ Phil Mickelson said. “He might not show it in public, because maybe he’s afraid some people might not get his humor, which is very, very dry.’’
It will be intriguing to see if Dufner breaks out of his dullsville public persona if he’s able to capture his first career major championship today and maybe gives someone a high-five or a fist bump.
Dufner, who faltered late in regulation and lost to Keegan Bradley in a playoff at the 2011 PGA Championship in Atlanta, said after that loss, “I would be disappointed if I didn’t have another chance.’’
Today is Dufner’s chance to change his life and become known for something more than being the unwitting star of a hysterical Internet sensation termed “Dufnering’’ — an homage to a lazy pose he was caught on camera in while visiting a school in Texas back in March.
A picture of Dufner sitting on the floor slumped against a wall in the classroom with his hands at his side, has become the symbol for “Dufnering,’’ something that has drawn fans and peers alike to imitate him.
Beginning with Rory McIlroy, the first player to tweet out a picture of himself “Dufnering’’ and even hash-tagging the term, a number of Dufner’s fellow players — including Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Luke Donald and Bubba Watson — followed suit.
A Google search of the word “Dufnering’’ yesterday offered more than 131,000 results, with one of the headlines reading: “The Birth of Dufnering.’’
Everybody is Dufnering. Imagine the where this craze might go if Dufner wins today.