Did Ken Duke Play The Best Players Championship Round You’ve Forgotten About?

Great rounds of golf are usually only noted if they end up in victory, a course record or even just a close call - but not all brilliant rounds of golf are remembered as they should be.

And Ken Duke's sparkling 65 in the third round of the 2016 Players Championship falls right into that category - and just could be the greatest round you've forgotten about.

It was described by his peers as the best round they'd ever seen at TPC Sawgrass and even labelled as "the best round of golf ever" by one player who witnessed it.

And that's because Duke played in some of the toughest conditions players could wish to experience at Sawgrass - with his 65 over 10 strokes better than the tournament average on the day.

It was a round out of nowhere, a round for the ages, and a round that nobody really ever talks about.

Jason Day went on to win the tournament after starting the week by equalling the course record with a Thursday 63.

Colt Knost matched that effort on Friday as Sawgrass yielded some low scoring on the opening two days - but the Stadium Course came biting back on Saturday.

Some devlishly slick and speedy greens saw the field tackling almost a completly different course - with the field combining for a score of 272 under par the first two days but crumbling to a whopping 273 over par in Saturday's third round.

Only six players managed to break par in the third round, with only three of those breaking 70 - including Duke's standout effort.

"What course was Ken Duke playing today?" eventual champion Day told Golf Digest after shooting 73 on Saturday.

"Can anyone tell me? Was he playing across the road? I think that should be the course record.”

With a scoring average of 75.59, Duke outscored them by a full 10 strokes, and while those dastardly greens caused 149 three-putts on the day, Duke did not make a single one of them.

The 47-year-old gained almost six shots on the field with his putter, needing just 24 strokes with the flat stick during an incredible round that left many of the field stunned in disbelief.

"The greens were the fastest I've ever putted," said Scotsman Russell Knox after shooting 80 on the same course.

"I looked up on the board and saw Ken Duke shot 65 and was like, what? That's the best round of golf ever, probably."

Duke could manage just a level-par 72 on Sunday to finish five shots behind champion Day, but he'd made his mark on his fellow professionals if not the wider audience as a whole.

It may not be the best round ever, but any of the players who remember Sawgrass on that Saturday at first hand will tell you it's up there with the most incredible standout performances they've seen.