Where is Jason Dufner Now
Jason Dufner is still an active PGA Tour member, but he now plays a selective schedule of roughly 15–20 events per season rather than the full grind of his prime years. The 2013 PGA Championship winner spends most of his time at home in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife Amanda and their two children, and picks tournaments carefully around his health limitations, past-champion exemptions, and occasional sponsor invites. He also stays involved in golf through course-design consulting projects and his charitable foundation, the Jason Dufner Foundation, which supports children’s health and education causes in the Auburn area.
Quick Answer
Dufner has not retired, but he has transitioned from a top-50 regular who played 25–30 events a year to a selective starter. He relies on past-champion status for major access and a handful of invitationals, while his other starts come from sponsor exemptions or limited-field events where his name still carries weight. His scoring average has settled in the low 72s, and he makes roughly one cut in every three or four starts.
The key boundary: this schedule can change year to year based on his results, injury status, and whether he earns enough FedExCup points to keep partial priority. If his game slips further or if he decides to turn 50 and join the PGA Tour Champions, his current pattern will shift again, but for now, he remains a part-time competitor on the main tour.
What a Part-Time PGA Tour Life Looks Like
Dufner’s tournament calendar now reflects his priorities: rest, family time in Auburn, and courses that reward his precise iron game rather than raw power. Typical stops include:
- Regular past-champion events – The PGA Championship, The Players Championship, and a few invitationals like the Memorial and the Genesis Invitational. These give him automatic entry without needing a sponsor exemption.
- Grind-friendly courses – He often plays the Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic), the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, and the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield. These shorter, positional layouts let his iron game keep him competitive even when his driver is off.
- Charity and pro-am tie-ins – He sometimes tees it up at opposite-field events like the Barbasol Championship, where the field is weaker and the tournament has partnered with his foundation in the past.
In 2024, Dufner made the cut in about 30% of his starts, with a T-26 at the Memorial being his best result. He opened that tournament with rounds of 71 and 68 before weekend scores of 74 and 75 dropped him down the board. Fans hoping to see him live should check the field list on the PGA Tour website the Friday before a tournament entry deadline – his Twitter account (@JasonDufner) occasionally posts where he’s playing next.
Why He Doesn’t Play More Events
The short answer is his body won’t allow it. Dufner underwent cervical neck surgery in 2018 to address a herniated disk that had been causing numbness in his left arm and affecting his swing. Before the surgery, he could stand on the range for hours grooving his swing; now he limits practice sessions to preserve his neck, shoulders, and lower back. In a 2022 interview with the Auburn Plainsman, he said he simply can’t “put the reps in” the way he used to, which means his feel around the greens comes and goes. When he plays multiple weeks in a row, the fatigue builds and his short game – already the weakest part of his prime game – deteriorates further. So he deliberately spaces out his starts, often taking two or three weeks off between events.
Where He Lives and What He Does at Home
Dufner and his family live in Auburn, where he is a visible presence at Auburn Tigers football games and local charity events. He owns a home in the Yarbrough Ridge area and frequently plays practice rounds at Auburn University Club when he’s in town. Away from tournament golf, he spends time on:
- Course-design consulting – He has worked on a handful of public-course renovation projects in Alabama and Georgia, mostly giving input on routing, bunker placement, and green complexes from a player’s perspective. He does not bill himself as a full-time architect but rather as a paid consultant on smaller municipal projects.
- Foundation work – The Jason Dufner Foundation hosts an annual charity pro-am each August in the Auburn area, raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of East Alabama and local children’s hospitals. The event typically draws a few PGA Tour friends and generates six-figure donations.
- Occasional media appearances – He has done guest-analyst stints on PGA Tour Live streaming coverage and appeared on Golf Channel’s “Live From” segments during major weeks. These are sporadic and not a full-time job.
How He Got Here – From Major Champion to Occasional Competitor
Dufner’s career arc is well-documented but worth re-examining through the lens of his current schedule because it explains exactly why he’s in this part-time holding pattern.
2011–2013: Peak Ball-Striking Years
Dufner lost the 2011 PGA Championship in a playoff to Keegan Bradley after holding a five-shot lead with four holes to play. That near-miss could have broken him, but he bounced back two years later to win the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill by two shots over Jim Furyk. During that stretch, he was second on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach and led the field in proximity to the hole. His iron game was arguably the best in the world for an 18-month window.
2014–2016: Solid but Declining
He won again at the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge and made the 2015 Presidents Cup team. His ball-striking remained strong, but his putting – always a weakness – started costing him more strokes. He still managed top-15 finishes in majors and held onto his card easily.
2017–2020: The Neck Injury
A neck issue that had been nagging him since 2016 worsened, and he tried to play through it. He fell outside the top 150 in the world ranking by mid-2017. The 2018 cervical fusion surgery fixed the immediate pain but altered his swing mechanics – he lost compression and speed, and his iron precision dropped. He told reporters at the 2019 Honda Classic that he “didn’t know if I’d ever be the same player.”
2021–Present: Selective Schedule
He flashed old form at the 2021 Memorial, where a T-4 finish included a second-round 67 that looked vintage. But he has not followed up with sustained results. Since 2022, he has made just 15 cuts in 46 starts, with no top-10 finishes. He now ranks outside the top 600 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has no status category that guarantees him entry into most events. Each year, he asks for a handful of sponsor exemptions, and each year, tournament directors weigh his name recognition against the need to give spots to rising stars. So far, the memory of his major win still opens a few doors.
What This Means for Fans
If you’re a fan wanting to see Dufner in person, here’s the practical takeaway with specific guidance.
Where to Look
Focus on events between March and July, especially those known for having friendly rough and shorter yardages. The Memorial, the RBC Heritage, and the Wyndham Championship are his most reliable appearances. He rarely plays West Coast swing events (the California and Arizona stops), and he typically skips the FedExCup playoffs since he doesn’t qualify. His typical season starts at the Cognizant Classic in late February, then picks up again around the Masters week (he sometimes plays the Valero Texas Open if he’s not in the Masters field).
How to Verify
Go to the PGA Tour website, find the tournament page, and click the “Field” tab – it lists all players who are exempt or have accepted sponsor exemptions. You can also check his Twitter account, where he sometimes posts a simple “I’m in next week” message. A third method: call the tournament’s media or player-relations office the week before the event. They can confirm if Dufner has accepted an exemption.
The Trade-Off
Because he no longer has full status, Dufner often needs sponsor exemptions even for events he used to play automatically. That means a tournament may turn him down if his world ranking (currently in the 600s) doesn’t justify a spot over a younger player who might become the next breakout star. Conversely, he might skip a week even when he’s healthy, simply because he doesn’t feel the course suits his game. If you attend an event hoping to see him, you could get shut out – he’s a little more important at Memorial (where the field is smaller and past champions are prioritized) than at, say, the John Deere Classic.
What to Expect If He Does Play
His iron striking can still be top-tier on the right day – he hit 70% of greens in regulation at the 2024 Memorial, a number that would have ranked inside the top 10 for the week. But his putting and short game often leak strokes. He typically loses 0.5 to 1.0 strokes per round on the greens, which turns even rounds of 68 into 72. He won’t blow away the field, but he can post a 67 on a good day and then follow it with a 76 the next. The volatility is part of watching a 47-year-old former champion who can still stripe an iron but can’t trust his putter.
Key Facts and Takeaways
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Current playing status | PGA Tour member, part-time schedule (15–20 events/year) |
| Last win | 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge |
| Age | 47 (born March 24, 1977) |
| Residence | Auburn, Alabama |
| Primary income sources | Tournament earnings, course-design consulting fees (public-course renovations in AL and GA), speaking engagements, foundation events |
| Notable post-prime finish | T-4 at 2021 Memorial |
| Health limitation | Cervical neck surgery (2018) restricts practice time; short game and putting inconsistent as a result |
| 2024 cuts made | 4 out of 13 starts (31%) |
| 2024 best finish | T-26 at the Memorial |
| Current world ranking | Outside top 600 |
| Future outlook | Unlikely to return to top-100 form; possible move to PGA Tour Champions at age 50 (2027) |
Dufner’s foundation runs a charity pro-am each August in Alabama, and he occasionally appears as a TV analyst on PGA Tour Live broadcasts when he’s not competing. He also maintains a modest endorsement relationship with a few equipment brands, though he no longer wears a full corporate-logo wardrobe.
Related Questions
Will Jason Dufner play on the PGA Tour Champions?
Not until he turns 50 in March 2027. He has not publicly committed to that path, but many past champions with limited PGA Tour schedules do make the move, and a relaxed schedule with shorter courses could suit his game well. His ball-striking would still be competitive against most Champions Tour fields.
How can I watch Jason Dufner play in 2025?
Check the PGA Tour field lists for the Memorial, Cognizant Classic, RBC Heritage, Wyndham Championship, and PGA Championship. Television coverage is rare unless he contends on the weekend – his group usually shows up on early-round streaming coverage on ESPN+ or PGA Tour Live. If he makes a cut, he’ll typically get a featured-group window on Saturday morning.
What does Jason Dufner do for a living now besides golf?
He earns money through course-design consulting, paid appearances, and his foundation’s fundraising events. He also holds the rights to his name and likeness for memorabilia and occasional endorsements, though those have diminished since his peak years. He does not work a traditional job outside golf and has described himself in interviews as “still a golfer who just doesn’t play as much.”
Michael Reeves is a PGA Professional with over 20 years of experience in competitive golf and instruction. A former Division I collegiate player at the University of Texas, he competed on the mini-tours before transitioning to full-time coaching and golf journalism. He has been a certified PGA teaching professional since 2005 and has worked with players at every level, from absolute beginners to collegiate champions.
His writing has appeared in Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and The Left Rough. At GolfHubz, Michael leads the editorial team, overseeing fact-checking and ensuring every answer meets the same standard he demands on the lesson tee: clear, evidence-based, and immediately useful.
When he’s not writing or teaching, Michael plays to a +1.4 handicap at his home club in Austin, Texas. He has attended over 40 major championships as a journalist and fan, and has played more than 200 courses across 15 countries.
You can reach Michael at [email protected] or follow his occasional swing analysis posts on the site.