What a difference a year makes for Duke  This time last year, Ken Duke was in Houston trying to preserve his position atop the money list at the Nationwide Tour Championship. He did just that, too, tying for 14th and holding off Johnson Wagner by just over $10,000.  Ken Duke is in the field for the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart. (WireImage)
What a difference a year makes. This week, Duke finds himself in central Florida in the place where dreams come true -- playing in the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart, the season-ending event on the PGA TOUR. Duke enters the $4.6 million event at Walt Disney World Resort ranked 36th on the PGA TOUR money list. As such, he's already secured a spot in the PGA TOUR's exclusive limited field events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Memorial Tournament and the Crowne Plaza Invitational. If he earns enough money to jump into the top 30 on the money list, though, Duke will be making his debut at the Masters and the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. He'll be assured a spot in the U.S. Open, as well. Climb even farther -- into the top 20 -- and Duke will be headed to England next July for the Open Championship. A win, of course, unlocks a treasure-trove of riches -- not the least of which is the security of two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. Not bad for a man who was re-delivering newspapers and working in a pro shop just five years ago to make ends meet. Duke credits some of his success to a chance meeting with legendary instructor Bob Toski two years ago. Toski invited Duke to come to his practice facility. He suggested Duke change his right-to-left ball flight to a gentle left-to-right fade. The results were almost immediate. Duke posted nine top-10s on the 2006 Nationwide Tour, including one victory, and seven more among the top 25. And once the Team Nationwide Tour member had assured himself of a return trip to the PGA TOUR, Duke wasted little time making the most of the opportunity. The 38-year-old journeyman has earned more than $1.9 million -- including $158,000 and change for that tie for fifth in last week's Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, which was his fifth top-10 of the year. In one season, Duke made nearly twice as much as he made -- combined -- in a decade playing the Nationwide Tour and PGA TOUR. |
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