Paired with Charlie Wi in the final group and trailing at the beginning of the day by three strokes, was unable to mount a charge with a 2-over 74, finishing T7, a distant seven strokes behind Phil Mickelson. His first top 10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (and of the season) snapped a streak of three consecutive missed cuts at the event. Opened the week in impressive fashion with a back-nine record, 8-under-par 28 en route to an 8-under-par 64 at Pebble Beach GL. The previous lows were 30s by Dan Pohl (final round, 1980) and Chris Wilson (second round, 2010).

Fired four rounds in the 60s at the Transitions Championship to finish T5 (12-under), one stroke out of a four-man playoff. It was his second top-10 of the season and best finish on TOUR since a T4 at the 2008 Buick Open.

Shared the first-round lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (7-under 65) and went on to record his third top-10 of the season, with a T7.

First top-10 of the year did not come until his 15th start at the Cox Classic in August. Moved into contention with second-round 63. Challenged for the title on the weekend but wound up T2, which jumped him from 91st to 44th on the money list.

Put together four consistent rounds at the Albertsons Boise Open in September and finished T3, three shots back of winner Jason Kokrak. Moved 15 spots up the money list, to No. 32.

Member of PGA TOUR in 2004, 2007-09 and the Nationwide Tour in 1995, 2003, 2005-06 and 2011. 2011: Finished No. 7 on the Nationwide Tour money list to earn his first trip to the PGA TOUR since the 2009 season.

First top-10 of the year did not come until his 15th start at the Cox Classic in August. Moved into contention with second-round 63. Challenged for the title on the weekend but wound up T2, which jumped him from 91st to 44th on the money list.

Put together four consistent rounds at the Albertsons Boise Open in September and finished T3, three shots back of winner Jason Kokrak. Moved 15 spots up the money list, to No. 32.

Entered the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship 36th on the money list. Rounds of 72-68-70-68-278 (-10) in windy, cool conditions at the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in South Carolina led to his first Tour victory since 2006, when he won once and collected both the money title and Player of the Year honors. Entered the final round one shot back of leader Jason Kokrak, who struggled the last day, and won by two over Scott Brown. The Tour's biggest first prize of the year, $180,000, helped earn him a return to the PGA TOUR in 2012. 2010: Made the cut in 11 of 23 starts on the Nationwide Tour with his best finish a T16 at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. Also made three cuts in five PGA TOUR starts. Finished T21 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Playing on a sponsor exemption, finished T8 at the Viking Classic after holding a share of the first-round lead after a 6-under-par 66. Recorded first top-10 finish on TOUR since the 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic (T2), a span of 34 tournaments. Later added a T15 at The McGladrey Classic. 2009: Failed to record a top-10 finish for the first time when playing a full season on the PGA TOUR. Made the cut in 14 of 29 starts, with a T23 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship his best outing. Completed the year No. 158 on the money list. 2008: Had the best season of his professional career, with four top-10s and 10 top-25s on the PGA TOUR. Finished T6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, thanks to a closing, 2-under 68, his first start in the event. It was his best finish since a runner-up to Nick Watney at the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Recorded his second top-10 of the season with a T4 at the Buick Open. Eagled the par-4 14th Sunday to vault into contention before falling two strokes shy of eventual winner Kenny Perry. Shared the first-round lead at the John Deere Classic with a 7-under 64. Finished T18. Third top-10 was a runner-up at the U.S. Bank Championship, one stroke behind Richard S. Johnson. Posted four rounds in the 60s, including a final-round 65. Recorded his best finish in a major championship, a T13 in the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. He was just one stroke back after an opening 1-under 69. Recorded his seventh top 20 in the last nine starts with a T10 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The good play pushed him to 18th in FedExCup points after his top-10 finish near Boston.

2007: After missing the cut in four of his first seven PGA TOUR starts, the leading money-winner on the 2006 Nationwide Tour made 21 of 24 cuts the remainder of the season, including four consecutive top-10s in the middle of the season. Best finish was a second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans where he began the final round two shots off Watney's 12-under lead. Shot 70 in the final round to claim his best career TOUR finish. Also earned his biggest paycheck to date, $658,800. Added a fifth top-10 at the Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, his home course in Port St. Lucie, FL. His T5 in that event moved him to No. 36 on the money list.

2006: Finished No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour money list and earned Player of the Year honors. Position made him fully exempt for the 2007 PGA TOUR and also earned entry into the 2007 PLAYERS Championship. Tied for first on the Nationwide Tour with nine top-10s (with Boo Weekley), including four top-three finishes. Among those top-threes was his first Nationwide Tour win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs in April. At the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, posted four rounds in the 60s (69-68-68-68) to finish 13-under 273, one shot in front of Jess Daley. Followed his victory by Monday Qualifying for the PGA TOUR's Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, NC, where he finished T14. Finally took over the money-list top spot with a runner-up finish at the Palmetto Pride Classic, falling in a Monday playoff to Aussie Michael Sim. 2005: Made the cut in 10 of 23 starts on the Nationwide Tour, with three top-10 finishes. Ended the year No. 47 on the money list, with $113,102. A final-round, 5-under 67 led to a solo-sixth place finish at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, marking his fourth career top-10 on the Nationwide Tour. Birdied Nos. 1-6 in the first round of the ING New Zealand PGA Championship, representing the Tour's second-best birdie streak of the season. After missing four consecutive cuts following his play in Louisiana, came back with a T3 finish at the Henrico County Open, finishing three strokes behind champion Chad Collins. Equaled his best career finish on Tour with a runner-up showing at the Canadian PGA Championship. At 16-under-par 272, including four rounds in the 60s, finished three shots behind tournament winner Jon Mills. Collected $48,600 for his efforts. 2004: Member of the PGA TOUR for the first time after finishing T12 at 2003 Q-School. First career top-10 came in his 29th career start, finishing T9 at the Reno-Tahoe Open, thanks to 8-under 64 in the second round. Had played in eight PGA TOUR events prior to his rookie season, making three cuts with one top-25 finish, a T23 at the 1996 Greater Vancouver Open. 2003: Made the cut in 19 of 26 events on the Nationwide Tour. Wrapped up the season No. 33 on the money list, with $133,167. Finished runner-up to Brett Wetterich at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Earned a career-best $51,300 for his efforts. He and Wetterich both shot opening-round 10-under-par 62s, the low first 18 on Tour all season. Ended the season with a strong showing at the Nationwide Tour Championship, finishing fourth, five shots behind Chris Couch. 1995: Played the Nationwide Tour and made the cut in five of 22 tournaments that year, finishing No. 179 on the money list with his best finish a T24 at the Knoxville Open.

As a seventh-grader, was diagnosed with scoliosis. The Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, AR, determined he had a 26-percent curvature of the spine and advised him to wear a back brace 23 hours a day. Two years later, with the curvature reaching 51 percent, he underwent surgery. Without the procedure, the pressure on his lungs and heart might have become life-threatening. Surgeons attached a 16-inch metal road to his spine to faciliate straightening. Remarkably, just months later he returned to his high school golf team—and playing in a back brace—won medalist honors at a district tournament. In 2009, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences established The Ken Duke Endowed Chair in Scoliosis. Funds from the chair treat spinal deformities, tumors and fractures.

He credits his dad for giving him his start in golf but says legendary instructor Bob Toski changed his swing and his life. His biggest golf thrill was playing a round at Augusta National in 2009 with Toski, who was 82 at the time.

An avid fisherman and country music fan. He lists Larry Bird as his hero.