AUSTIN, Texas – On paper, 58th-seeded Jason Dufner looked like a big underdog against No. 5 Rickie Fowler in Wednesday’s first round of the WGC-Dell Match Play. However, Dufner led for 13 of the 17 holes and won, 2 and 1.
Dufner, a close friend of Fowler’s off the golf course, made few mistakes, recording seven birdies. His lone bogey, against one bogey, on the par-4 15th hole at Austin Country Club, allowed Fowler to square the match for the first time since the second hole.
Then Dufner, the 2013 PGA champion, took control right back with birdies at the par-5 16th and par-3 17th to close out the match.