Dufner looks for his fifth win on TOUR

Jason Dufner climbed into the solo lead with an eagle hole-out at RBC Heritage and Martin Kaymer tried to bank one off the stands.

By Latha 16 April 2017

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Jason Dufner leading Round 2 at the Memorial Tournament

Apr 16, 2017: News and notes from Saturday’s third round of the RBC Heritage where Jason Dufner made a significant surge with a 6-under 65 to take the 54-hole lead at 13-under par. Anirban Lahiri suffered a disappointing third round, slipping to T63 after signing for a four over score of 75.

Dufner will chase win No. 5 on the PGA TOUR – starting one clear of Canadian Graham DeLaet who is hoping his 160th TOUR start is the one where he claims his maiden win.

Kevin Kisner will lead the local South Carolina hopes from two shots back, tied with North Carolina’s Webb Simpson at 11-under.

Jason Dufner is about as laid back as they come but heading to Hilton Head this week he decided he needed to take it down a notch more.

The former PGA Championship winner wanted to cut himself a break – and lower his expectations.

The result of his muted outlook sees the four-time PGA TOUR winner holding the 54-hole lead for the first time since the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge – coincidentally his last win on TOUR.

Come Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links he will start one clear of Graham DeLaet after a rollercoaster 6-under 65 that featured two eagles, five birdies and three bogeys.

“I’m trying to play this week with low expectations. And have a trust and belief that my game is pretty good right now,” said Dufner.

“I think expectations are one of the worst things you can have out here. You start thinking about how you should play or how you could play or how you want to play, that really gets in the way of playing well, to be honest with you.”

Dufner took his cue from Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who after years of high expectations and little results in majors, finally broke through.

“He kind of lowered his expectations, and got out of his way, so to speak, and let his talent and his game plan take it from there,” Dufner said. “There are so many things that we try to control out here when we’re playing. And I think sometimes you want to let go of control a little bit more than you want to control.

“That’s where I’m at this week. I’m going to go out tomorrow and do the same things I’ve been doing, and hopefully it will be my week to finish this here.”