Lurking Jason Dufner seeks breakthrough win at Dean & DeLuca Invitational

Leader Jordan Spieth and Colleyville resident Ryan Palmer will be in Sunday’s final pairing of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.

But one player who has made a habit of knocking on the door at Colonial Country Club is doing so once again.

Jason Dufner, runner-up in 2012 and 2014, when he lost in a playoff to Adam Scott, sits alone in seventh place, just three strokes behind Spieth at 9 under after firing a 4-under 66 on Saturday.

In Dufner’s past four appearances at Colonial, the Cleveland native has a scoring average of 68.56. With Friday’s 69 sandwiched between matching 66s on Thursday and Saturday, Dufner is scoring at a slightly better clip this time around.

“This course is pretty receptive, I think, for good scoring,” Dufner said. “You’re seeing that today. Guys are shooting 2-, 3-, 4-under par pretty easily, so I’m going to need something low, because one of those guys that’s ahead of me is probably going to have a low score.”

He did most of his damage Saturday on the front nine, going out in 31 strokes and briefly matching the tournament lead at 9 under after his birdie on the par-4 sixth. He had it to 10 under after a birdie at the par-3 13th. But just like Spieth, he gave back a stroke at the par-4 18th.

“Just duck-hooked it into the trees,” Dufner said of his drive at the 18th that went 262 yards into the left rough and forced him to punch out into the fairway.

Going low

Matt Kuchar shot the low round of the day Saturday — a 7-under 63 — to jump 35 spots on the leader board and into a tie for ninth.

After starting on the 10th hole and recording just one birdie on the back side, Kuchar birdied six of seven holes after the turn.

Kuchar and Shawn Stefani (66) had the only two bogey-free rounds Saturday. Dufner just missed A bogey-free round when he ran into trouble at No. 18.

The first and second holes presented the opportunity for Kuchar to get hot, playing as the easiest and third-easiest holes on the course in the third round. But he also birdied No. 5, which played as the most difficult hole Saturday (.286 average strokes over par) and finished the front in just 29 strokes.

“Second hole was very gettable with a drive in the fairway, which I hit a good drive and it was just a sand wedge in,” Kuchar said. “Three, four and five are really tough, so getting through three, four and five at 2-under par was a really good score. Shooting 29 coming in was awfully nice.”

Harris English and Chris Stroud were just one shot off Kuchar’s torrid pace and climbed the leader board with matching 64s. English’s round moved him from a tie for 15th into a tie for fourth, just two shots behind Spieth.

Military homes

Brandy Oakes of Atlanta, Ga., a Gold Star survivor and Army widow, and Christopher Tate of Lake Village, Ark., an Army wounded warrior, were gifted the deeds to their mortgage-free homes Saturday.

The two homes were donated by Humana and private donors to the Military Warriors Support Foundation in a ceremony on the 17th fairway. Combined, the debt retired on the two mortgages was $62,000.

Tate, a Purple Heart recipient, is attending barber school in the Mid-Cities and plans to go back to college at either TCU or UT Arlington. The retired Army sergeant’s home will be in Fort Worth.

Oakes is the widow of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, who was killed in action in November 2010 while on patrol in Afghanistan. Her home will be in Buford, Ga.

Years of service

Fort Worth resident Robert Scott received a 40-year anniversary pin for volunteer service at Colonial. Ken Mageson received a 30-year pin. Wendell Morris and Gene Pate received 25-year pins, and Walt Hill, Ron Pitt and Stan Watson earned 20-year pins.

Pate also spent 25 years as a Fort Worth police officer working Colonial.

Several standard-bearers, the folks who carry the portable scoreboards that follow each group, were also honored with 25-year pins: Bob Bienski, Randy Cozart, Chuck Pittman and Ronald Pyeatt.

This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Lurking Jason Dufner seeks breakthrough win at Dean & DeLuca Invitational."