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 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. Months later, back playing for Arkadelphia High School, he won medalist honors in a high school district golf tournament while wearing a back brace. In 1987, he was the Arkansas High School Medalist at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Amateur career 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
Professional career 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. 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." 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) PGA Tour wins (1) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jun 23, 2013Travelers Championship−12 (69-68-65-66=268)Playoff Chris Stroud
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12013Travelers Championship Chris StroudWon with birdie on second extra hole
Nationwide Tour wins (2) Legend Tour Championships (1) Other Nationwide Tour (1) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Apr 30, 2006BMW Charity Pro-Am−13 (69-68-68-68=273)1 stroke Jess Daley2Oct 30, 2011Nationwide Tour Championship−10 (72-68-70-68=278)2 strokes Scott Brown
Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12006PalmettoPride Classic Michael SimLost to birdie on first extra hole
Canadian Tour wins (2) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1May 30, 1999Shell Payless Open−16 (64-65-66-69=264)5 strokes Ray Freeman2Sep 19, 1999Bayer Championship−16 (69-66-69-67=273)1 stroke Arron Oberholser
Golden Bear Tour wins (1) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Apr 7, 2005Champion−4 (71-67-74=212)1 stroke Adam Fox, Justin Hicks
PGA Tour Champions wins (1) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Aug 20, 2023Shaw Charity Classic−14 (66-64-66=196)1 stroke Thongchai Jaidee, Tim Petrovic
Results in major championships Tournament199719981999Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA Championship Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentT35U.S. OpenCUTT23CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA ChampionshipT18T13CUT Tournament20102011201220132014Masters TournamentCUTU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipT64PGA ChampionshipT62T57
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 4Totals 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 Tournament2007200820092010201120122013201420152016The Players ChampionshipT37T54CUTCUTCUTCUTT3
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament20092010201120122013Match PlayChampionshipT40InvitationalT65ChampionsT46
"T" = Tied
Results in senior major championships Results not in chronological order Tournament20192020202120222023202420252026Senior PGA ChampionshipCUTNTCUTCUTT55T57CUTCUTThe TraditionNTT66T26T28T1470T39U.S. Senior OpenT17NTCUTT18CUTT22T28Senior Players ChampionshipT13T45T12T5T44T60T33T60Senior British Open ChampionshipT10NTT35T20T14CUT
"T" indicates a tie for a place CUT = missed the halfway cut NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
See also 2003 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2006 Nationwide Tour graduates 2011 Nationwide Tour graduates
References
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