Duke Dazzles in Connecticut
By: Nick Bonfield | Mon 24 Jun 2013
Ken Duke defeated Chris Stroud in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands after both players finished 72-holes tied for the lead on 12-under-par.
In extra holes, both men made safe pars on the 18th before Duke hit his approach to two feet the second time around and tapped in for birdie.
After 18 holes, though, it didn’t look like Duke would be the star of the show.
He opened with a one-under-par 69, but trailed Charley Hoffman by eight shots after last year’s runner-up compiled a magnificent 61, which included two eagles.
Hoffman stumbled to a 73 in round two, and Duke made progress with a Friday 68 to leave him seven adrift of Bubba Watson, who followed an opening 63 with a second-round 67.
Duke’s best round of the week came on Saturday, with the 44-year-old firing a bogey-free 65 to head into the final round just two off the lead.
On Sunday, he birdied the second hole and parred to the turn. A fortuitous ricochet set up a birdie and 10, which he followed with a birdie two at the 11th.
He parred 12, played the last six in one-under-par and made a fine birdie on the second extra hole to edge out Stroud, who dramatically chipped in from 51 feet on the 72nd hole to earn a play-off berth.
Talking points:
Persistence pays off
Ken Duke turned professional in 1994 after graduating from college, and he could have been forgiven for seeking another profession after struggling to make it in the professional game. He’s played on the American mini-tours, the Asian Tour, the South American Tour, the Canadian Tour and others before finally making his top-tier breakthrough. He deserves great credit for such persistence, and for continuing to believe in himself in an age with more great players than any other.
First timers
There is just something about the TPC River highlands that makes winless players feel right at home. Maybe it’s the set up of the course, the support of the gallery or the convivial atmosphere of a tournament that’s renowned as one of the friendliest on the PGA Tour roster. Who knows? What we do know is Duke was the sixth first-time PGA Tour winner in eight years to triumph at the Travelers, a remarkable statistic.
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