Ken Duke

Ken Duke
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Kenneth Wootson Duke
Born (1969-01-29) January 29, 1969
Hope, Arkansas
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Palm City, Florida
Spouse Michelle
Children Ashleigh, Lauren
Career
College Henderson State University
Turned professional 1994
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Former tour(s) Nationwide Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins 5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
Web.com Tour 2
Other 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T35: 2009
U.S. Open T23: 2007
The Open Championship T64: 2013
PGA Championship T13: 2008
Achievements and awards
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit winner		 1999
Nationwide Tour
leading money winner		 2006
Nationwide Tour
Player of the Year		 2006

Kenneth Wootson Duke (born January 29, 1969) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Duke was born in Hope, Arkansas, the son of Ray and Bettie Duke. As a seventh grader in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, he was diagnosed with scoliosis; it was determined that his spine had a curvature of over 26 percent, and he wore a back brace 23 hours a day. Duke had surgery two years later after it was determined that his spine had a 51 percent curvature. At Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, on February 25, 1985, the day of the surgery, Duke's spine was at 72 degrees and worsening. Once a 16-inch metal rod was attached to his spine, the curve of Duke’s back was set at 38 degrees, within the range of normal, and that’s where it has stayed ever since.[1]

Months later, back playing for Arkadelphia High School, he won medalist honors in a high school district golf tournament while wearing a back brace.[2] In 1987, he was the Arkansas High School Medalist at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.[3]

Duke played his college golf at Division II Henderson State University. Duke led the Reddies to four straight Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference titles and was a four-time AIC Golfer of the Year. In 1992, he earned NAIA All-American honors[3]

After turning professional in 1994, Duke bounced around the world playing mini-tours and on the Asian Tour, South American Tour, and the Canadian Tour. In 1999, he won twice on the Canadian Tour and led their Order of Merit. Duke first played on what was then the Nike Tour in 1995 and qualified for the PGA Tour in 2004, but failed to keep his card and returned to the Nationwide Tour. In 2006 he finished at the top of the Nationwide Tour money list and won the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, which regained his playing rights on the PGA Tour for 2007.

After a slow start to the 2007 season, Duke hit a run of good form in the spring, with four consecutive top 10 finishes, elevating Duke into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

At the 2011 Nationwide Tour Championship, Duke secured his PGA Tour card with a win. He jumped from 36th on the Tour's money list to seventh.

On June 23, 2013, in his 187th start and after three runner-up finishes in his career, Duke broke through to win his maiden event on the PGA Tour at the Travelers Championship. He beat Chris Stroud with a birdie on the second extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. He entered the final round two shots back of the leaders, but shot a final round 66 to take the lead in the clubhouse before Stroud chipped in on the final green to force a playoff. In the playoff, after both players made par on the first extra hole, Duke played his approach to within three feet. Stroud, who was about 30 feet away, could not make a birdie, leaving Duke to convert from three feet for his first PGA Tour victory.[4]

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 Jun 23, 2013 Travelers Championship −12 (69-68-65-66=268) Playoff United States Chris Stroud

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2013 Travelers Championship United States Chris Stroud Won with birdie on second extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 Apr 30, 2006 BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs −13 (69-68-68-68=273) 1 stroke United States Jess Daley
2 Oct 30, 2011 Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island −10 (72-68-70-68=278) 2 strokes United States Scott Brown

Canadian Tour wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T35
U.S. Open DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP T23 DNP CUT
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T18 T13 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP T64 DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP T62 T57 DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 4
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 3 14 7

See also

References

  1. ↑ Miceli, Alex (February 12, 2012). "Ken Duke's unlikely journey to Tour". Golfweek.
  2. ↑ "Ken's Story". Ken Duke website. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Mitchell, Troy (October 17, 2013). "Ken Duke: A Story of Patience and Perseverance". Henderson State University.
  4. ↑ "Ken Duke wins PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in playoff over Chris Stroud". ESPN. Associated Press. June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
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