Jason Dufner, struggling with arthritis and bulging disks in his neck, finally called it quits midway through Thursday’s opening round of his PGA Championship defense.
Jason Dufner withdraws from PGA Championship defense with neck injury
A bad neck forces Jason Dufner to withdraw from the PGA Championship midway through his opening round at Valhalla.
Dufner, the second likely member of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup to withdraw from this week’s final major of the season after back spasms forced Matt Kuchar out before he had even teed off, arrived at Valhalla with a sore neck and a long shot to go back-to-back in the PGA.
The three-time PGA Tour winner had had enough after an indifferent chip shot to the 10th green led to a triple-bogey 8 and left him at 8-over for the tournament. (via Eye on Golf)
“I feel sore,” Dufner told reporters ahead of the tournament and after getting an epidural a week ago for what he called an arthritic, degenerative condition that began bothering him in April at Augusta. “I get a little fatigued quicker than usual. I’m probably not going to be healthy until I can take six to eight weeks off. Not sure when that’s going to be but I’ll get through it.”
It would appear that Dufner, who told SB Nation in June that he planned to retire in five years, will get that time off sooner rather than later, especially if he is unable to play in the Ryder Cup in September.
“I can’t play golf. There’s no reason to be out here,” he told TNT after withdrawing.
The next time he plays “could be two weeks at Barclays [the first leg of the FedExCup playoffs], it could be never again to be honest with you, though I doubt that that’s the case. I’m not proving anything out here. I’m not going to continue to play hurt, it’s no fun.”
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