La Quinta Resort, CA …
One of the first tasks defending Career Builder Challenge champion Jason Dufner undertook in returning to the La Quinta Resort was check out a plaque at the back of the island-green 17th on the Stadium Course.
But unlike most plaques placed on a golf course to recognise some extra-ordinary feat like the albatross Lee Westwood hit from 212-yards out at the ninth fairway at Kingsbarns on route to a round of 62 and eventual victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, and the plaque on the 18th fairway at Bay Hill where American Robert Gamez holed his second 176-yard 7-iron shot for eagle to defeat Greg Norman and win the 1990 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Then there is the most memorable of plaques well left of the 16th hole at Royal Birkdale where Arnold Palmer played a 6-iron to go on and win by a shot the 1961 Open Championship.
No, you will have to look hard to locate the plaque bearing Dufner’s name.
In fact, the plaque is located between rocks back right of the 17th green.
A year ago, 17th tee of the PGA West TPC Stadium Course tied for the lead with Sweden’s David Lingmerth, but his tee shot on the 165-yard par-3 landed on the back of Pete Dye’s island green and nestled into the rocks surrounding it.
Luckily for Dunfer, he was still able to play the shot, but it was going to be tricky. The Cleveland-born Dufner not only found a way to get the ball out, but his chip hit the pin to narrowly miss a birdie. He settled for a tap-in par to eventually win a fourth PGA Tour title.
And no sooner had Dufner entered the Media Centre ahead of his defence and he brought up the plaque.
“I heard there’s a plaque over there somewhere on 17, so maybe I’ll check it out this afternoon after the Pro-Am gets done,” he said.
