Ken Duke

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Ken Duke
Duke at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open
Personal information
Full nameKenneth Wootson Duke
Born (1969-01-29) January 29, 1969 (age 55)
Hope, Arkansas, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidencePalm City, Florida, U.S.
SpouseMichelle
Children2
Career
CollegeHenderson State University
Turned professional1994
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Canadian Tour
Golden Bear Tour
Professional wins7
Highest ranking70 (June 23, 2013)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour2
PGA Tour Champions1
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT35: 2009
PGA ChampionshipT13: 2008
U.S. OpenT23: 2007
The Open ChampionshipT64: 2013
Achievements and awards
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit winner		1999
Nationwide Tour
money list 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 Champions. He formerly played on the PGA Tour, with his sole victory coming at the 2013 Travelers Championship.

Early life

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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.[2] Months later, back playing for Arkadelphia High School, he won medalist honors in a high school district golf tournament while wearing a back brace.[3] In 1987, he was the Arkansas High School Medalist at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.[4]

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[4]

Professional career

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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 first 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.[5] He also reached a career-best world ranking of 70th after his win.

In the 2016 Players Championship, Duke shot a 65 during the third round on Saturday May 14, 2016. Conditions were very difficult that day and this round was subsequently viewed as one of the best rounds ever played at TPC Sawgrass. “What course was Ken Duke playing today? Can anyone tell me? Was he playing across the road?” said Jason Day after his third-round 73. “I think that should be the course record.” "The greens were the fastest I've ever putted," said Russell Knox. "I looked up on the board and saw Ken Duke shot 65 and was like, what? That's the best round of golf ever, probably."[6] He finished tied for third in the tournament, winning $504,000.

Duke was one of the last players to retain his Tour card via earnings, an exemption the PGA Tour ended prior to the 2017–18 season. Duke was unable to retain full Tour status after the season and became eligible for PGA Tour Champions in January 2019.

Professional wins (7)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin 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. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2013 Travelers Championship United States Chris Stroud Won with birdie on second extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Nationwide Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Apr 30, 2006 BMW Charity Pro-Am −13 (69-68-68-68=273) 1 stroke United States Jess Daley
2 Oct 30, 2011 Nationwide Tour Championship −10 (72-68-70-68=278) 2 strokes United States Scott Brown

Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2006 PalmettoPride Classic Australia Michael Sim Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Canadian Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 30, 1999 Shell Payless Open −16 (64-65-66-69=264) 5 strokes United States Ray Freeman
2 Sep 19, 1999 Bayer Championship −16 (69-66-69-67=273) 1 stroke United States Arron Oberholser

Golden Bear Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Apr 7, 2005 Champion −4 (71-67-74=212) 1 stroke United States Adam Fox, United States Justin Hicks

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Aug 20, 2023 Shaw Charity Classic −14 (66-64-66=196) 1 stroke Thailand Thongchai Jaidee, United States Tim Petrovic

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T35
U.S. Open CUT T23 CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship T18 T13 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship T64
PGA Championship T62 T57
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

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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
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2007 U.S. Open – 2009 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
The Players Championship T37 T54 CUT CUT CUT CUT T3
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Match Play
Championship T40
Invitational T65
Champions T46
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

Results in senior major championships

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Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition NT T66 T26 T28 T14
Senior PGA Championship CUT NT CUT CUT T55 T57
U.S. Senior Open T17 NT CUT T18 CUT T22
Senior Players Championship T13 T45 T12 T5 T44 T60
Senior British Open Championship T10 NT T35 T20 T14
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 25 2013 Ending 23 Jun 2013" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  2. ^ Miceli, Alex (February 12, 2012). "Ken Duke's unlikely journey to Tour". Golfweek.
  3. ^ "Ken's Story". Ken Duke website. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Mitchell, Troy (October 17, 2013). "Ken Duke: A Story of Patience and Perseverance". Henderson State University. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Ken Duke wins PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in playoff over Chris Stroud". ESPN. Associated Press. June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  6. ^ Myers, Alex (May 15, 2016). "Why Ken Duke's Saturday 65 may be the greatest round in Players history". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
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