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Jason Dufner's Masters chances are already slumped against the wall

Jason Dufner's Masters chances are already slumped against the wall

Much like the short-lived meme which bears his name, Jason Dufner's scorecard in the first round of the Masters slumps lifelessly, and will be difficult to rouse.

Dufner, golf's most recent major winner thanks to his victory at last year's PGA Championship, entered this year's Masters as a solid pick for a breakout win. That hope lasted all of nine holes. Dufner parred the entire front nine, looking solid enough. But then the wheels fell off, the bandwagon burst into flames, and women and children ran screaming from the carnage ... metaphorically, of course.

A double-bogey on 10 began a four-hole stretch that would see Dufner leap from Even to seven strokes over par, capped by a quadruple-bogey 9 on 13. He then followed a birdie on 15 with two bogeys, and ended the day at a cringeworthy 80.

"The margins are very small. Miss a shot and you're going to make a bogey or a double," Dufner said, "or in some cases a 9."

This was in no way the way Dufner wanted to begin his latest charge at a major. On the bright side, pretty much any score Friday will be an improvement.

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Jay Busbee

is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter.