DUBLIN – Jason Dufner never lost sight of the big picture even after losing a big lead. It paid off when he made a 30-foot par putt on the final hole that wrapped up his victory in the Memorial.
Dufner lost a five-shot lead Saturday and started Sunday four shots behind. And then he kept his composure through two rain delays and closed with a 4-under 68 to get that handshake with host Jack Nicklaus.
Dufner finished at 13-under 275 for his fifth PGA Tour victory and joined Nicklaus as the only Ohio-born winners of the Memorial.
Four players had at least a share of the lead in a final round in which seven players were in the hunt.
Dufner saved his best golf for the back nine. Not only did he hit every green until the 18th, all but one of his birdie chances were from 12 feet or in. He closed with a 4-under 68 It took a 30-foot par on the 72nd hold to notch the win at ‘Jack’s Place.’
Meanwhle, the Captains Club of the Muirfield Village Golf Club announced that Hale Irwin, a winner of three U.S. Open championships, has been selected as the Honoree for the 2018 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
Irwin, who celebrated his 72nd birthday last week, is a two-time winner of the Memorial Tournament, in 1983 and ’85, making him one of just six multiple winners in Tournament history.
Also being honored posthumously in 2018 will be two-time major champion Jock Hutchison and Willie Turnesa, widely considered one of the game’s finest amateur golfers.