No matter. It still has all the elements for exquisite drama.
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England’s Andy Sullivan, who has completed 36 holes, was the overnight leader on 10-under, with DeChambeau a stroke adrift after playing 27 holes.
La Quinta: Leading Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri dropped two positions to be tied third after scoring four-under 68 in the second round of the $5,800,000 CareerBuilder Challenge here. He had a bogey-free 66 at the Stadium Course, holing a flop shot for birdie on the 10th hole.
It was a playoff that Dufner barely managed to make.
His efforts seem to be paying dividends at this week’s pro-am event and the 2013 US PGA champion admits he is feeling positive heading into Sunday.
Dufner’s 26 birdies are the most in the tournament. “I didn’t play as good on the front nine as I would have liked”.
“I probably played each four or five times before that Q-school started, ” Dufner said.
Phil Mickelson was tied for fifth at 17.
He opted to play out, and his shot struck the flagstick to leave him a tap-in for par. However, his ball ended up in a clean lie beside rocks just off the back of the green from where he almost holed out for birdie before tapping in for par. I got a great break and sometimes those things happen and you need them to happen to win. I was standing on a couple of rocks, but I had a stance. “But I’ve also won with a lot less game than I have right now”.
Dufner then watched as the rocks and water he had avoided in regulation claimed David Lingerth as a victim in a playoff.
Perhaps recalling the Twitter dustup, Dufner said after the round, “I’m out here to win tournaments”.
“I’m excited, this was a really good week for me to prove I’m on the right track”, Mickelson said on Golf Channel. “There’s a little bit of room to play off the tee, but if you get off the path a little bit, you can get into some trouble…. It’s tough out here”. He closed with a 68 and tied Andrew Loupe (68) and Kevin Na (68) for third at 21 under.
The 38-year-old Dufner is at 23-under-par 193 for the tournament, its second-best 54-hole score since it was reduced to 72 holes in 2012.
But Mickelson’s second shot on the par-five 16th sliced into the 20-foot-deep “San Andreas fault” bunker, and after failing to escape on the first try, Mickelson could only save a nice par.
After both players made par on the first playoff hole, Dufner rolled in a short par putt for the win on the second extra hole.
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Graham DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., shot a 69 and is tied for 37th place at 11 under.
