Dufner's wife demands more of the same
PGA Championship winner mulls early retirement but his better half urges him to think again
Jason Dufner's PGA Championship victory fortified his plan to retire from golf in the next few years, if his wife doesn't insist he keep working. "The plan is coming together really well," Dufner, 36, said after winning the season's final major tournament and a US$1.4 million pay cheque. "I've got a five-year exemption now, so that would take me to 41. Maybe I'll push it back one year."
Dufner's first major title at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, marked his third US PGA Tour win since turning professional in 2000 and raised his career earnings to US$15.1 million. His emotion-free demeanour on the course and everyman appearance off it has made him an internet star, placing Dufner in prime position to capitalise on a lifestyle that he's not sure how long he'll want.
When kids come into the picture I’m sure I’ll want to be home a lot more, and just try to do some other things with my life
"There's other things to life than chasing a golf ball," Dufner said during an interview in New York near the end of a day of television and radio appearances. "When kids come into the picture I'm sure I'll want to be home a lot more, and just try to do some other things with my life."
Dufner's wife, 25-year-old Amanda, said she didn't have the same vision for her husband. "He's the one that wants to retire early," she said. "I don't want him to retire."
Dufner, who is now No 8 in the world rankings, said other than tournaments, practice and corporate outings he had played about six rounds of golf in the last year. "Vijay Singh, he's a golf junkie," Dufner said. "Lee Trevino: golf junkie. Tom Kite: golf junkie. I'm not a golf junkie."
Asked what he was a junkie for, Dufner said: "I don't even know yet.
"That's the thing I always tell my wife," he added. "She's like, 'What are you going to do'? I tell her I don't know because I don't have time to think about it."