This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Dufner a Surprise Leader at PGA

Former Auburn star had missed the cut in five of his last six starts, but shares the second-round lead with rookie Keegan Bradley.

There weren’t many voices trumpeting the chances of Jason Dufner prior to the 93rd PGA Championship. But his chorus of supporters is starting to grow after his performance in the second round at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Dufner is tied with Keegan Bradley for the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship at 5-under par 135. Dufner, the former Auburn University standout, shot a 65, while Bradley had a 64. They lead a group at 4-under 136 that includes D.A. Points, John Senden, Scott Verplank and former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk.

Dufner had missed the cut in five of his last six events leading up to the PGA Championship. That streak of futile play helped negate the positive effects of back-to-back top-10s this spring at New Orleans and The Players Championship. His success on Friday came from a simple philosophy: keep the ball in play off the tee.

Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’ve been hitting it in the fairway,” Dufner said. “I was able to attack some pins early and able get off to a good start.”

Dufner started on the back nine and made three straight birdies starting on No. 11. He made the turn in 33 and came home in 32, a score sparked by an eagle on No. 5. The eagle chance occurred when his 3-wood approach landed 25 feet from the pin, a putt he converted.

Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“That’s a really good feeling,” he said. “This is what golfers play for, to win major championships. Hopefully my form will stay up and I’ll have a chance to win.”

Dufner had a 65 in the second round of the PGA Championship a year ago at Whistling Straits and went on to finish tied for fifth place.

Bradley is the nephew of former LPGA great Pat Bradley, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and son of PGA member Mark Bradley, the head professional at Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Golf and Tennis Club. Bradley and Dufner will be in the final pairing and start their third round at 3 p.m.

First-round leader Steve Stricker, the first round leader with a 63, had trouble from the start in the second round. He wound up with a 74, but remains tied for seventh at 3-under 137 .

“I was on the other end of the spectrum today where it was tough going all the way around,” Stricker said. “But if we would have shot 2 under yesterday and 1 under today, we’d be feeling pretty good. The way we got there wasn’t ideal, but we’re still in there, only a couple back, and anything could happen on the weekend.”

While the top of the leader board isn’t packed with stars, there are plenty of well-known names within striking distance. Adam Scott, who won last week in Akron, is three shots behind. Lee Westwood, another world-class player searching for his first major championship, is four shots back. Phil Mickelson trails by six shots after making a double-bogey on his last hole.

“I thought at the start of the week that 6-under was going to win the tournament,” Westwood said. “And it may still do. I’m sort of cruising into position.”

For Friday's leaderboard, visit www.pga.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?