| Ken Duke | |||||||
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Duke at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open
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| Personal information | |||||||
| Full name | Kenneth Wootson Duke | ||||||
| Born | (1969-01-29) January 29, 1969 (age 55) Hope, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | ||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||
| Residence | Palm City, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Spouse | Michelle | ||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||
| Career | |||||||
| College | Henderson State University | ||||||
| Turned professional | 1994 | ||||||
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions | ||||||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Nationwide Tour Canadian Tour Golden Bear Tour | ||||||
| Professional wins | 7 | ||||||
| Highest ranking | 70 (June 23, 2013)[1] | ||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||
| PGA Tour | 1 | ||||||
| Korn Ferry Tour | 2 | ||||||
| PGA Tour Champions | 1 | ||||||
| Other | 3 | ||||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||||
| Masters Tournament | T35: 2009 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T13: 2008 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T23: 2007 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T64: 2013 | ||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||
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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.
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]
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.
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 23, 2013 | Travelers Championship | −12 (69-68-65-66=268) | Playoff |  Chris Stroud
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PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2013 | Travelers Championship | Chris Stroud
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Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| Legend |
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| 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 | Jess Daley
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| 2 | Oct 30, 2011 | Nationwide Tour Championship | −10 (72-68-70-68=278) | 2 strokes | Scott Brown
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Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | PalmettoPride Classic |  Michael Sim
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Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 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 | Ray Freeman
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| 2 | Sep 19, 1999 | Bayer Championship | −16 (69-66-69-67=273) | 1 stroke | Arron Oberholser
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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 | Adam Fox, Justin Hicks
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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 |  Thongchai Jaidee, Tim Petrovic
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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 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
| 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 |
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T37 | T54 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T3 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | |||||
| Championship | T40 | ||||
| Invitational | T65 | ||||
| Champions | T46 |
"T" = Tied
| 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 | |
| Senior Players Championship | T13 | T45 | T12 | T5 | T44 | |
| Senior British Open Championship | T10 | NT | T35 | T20 | T14 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
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