Dufnering Victory: PGA Champion Jason Dufner Sparked Meme Before Winning Major Golf Title

Jason Dufner may have won his first major title Sunday at the PGA Championship but the man responsible for the Internet meme "Dufnering" has been a cult figure on the social media scene for months.

Dufner, 36, claimed the PGA Championship Sunday at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. He started strong, tying the all-time record for lowest score in a major with a 63 Friday, and finished two shots ahead of runner-up Jim Furyk to round out the tournament.

But before he was a PGA winner, Dufner sparked a social media craze after a photo of him at a charity event in Dallas made the Internet rounds earlier this year.

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In the picture, Dufner is sitting with a group of kids at a community center looking extremely downtrodden as he stares aimlessly.

The original! #Dufnering RT @Keegan_Bradley: Haha I don't know what to say. This is the best picture ever. #duffdaddy pic.twitter.com/i3ppeIl0xN
— Dom Rosney (@domrosney) March 29, 2013

"Got some notoriety for maybe something that was probably trying to hurt me a little bit and ran with it and it helped me a lot," Dufner said of his Internet fame for Dufnering. "I got a lot of fans because of it and people identified me through it and that was good."

Dufner's fans took to Twitter Sunday to congratulate the golf champion on his big win and pay homage to his famous meme.

Everyday I'm #dufnering. In your face #Harlemshake pic.twitter.com/UIz45R7THh
— JonesyandAmanda (@JonesyandAmanda) August 12, 2013

Congrats @JasonDufner #dufnering @JuhaUotila pic.twitter.com/LN3jHcpJ1l
— Victor Svensson (@Svesse39) August 12, 2013

Birdie, mascotte of 'golf, the sport of the year 2013' in Flanders Belgium, was #dufnering! Congrats @jasondufner! pic.twitter.com/L9A8Uu3BBq
— Sportvanhetjaar (@Sportvanhetjaar) August 12, 2013

Lindsey Vonn (@lindseyvonn) #dufnering with the one and only Jason Dufner (@JasonDufner). #britishopen pic.twitter.com/4XCem8M5wD
— NBC Sports Network (@NBCSN) July 17, 2013

Looking lazy kids! RT .@GolfChannel's Live From crew Dufnering in honor of Jason Dufner's win at Oak Hill CC. pic.twitter.com/emg5oEnoPi
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) August 12, 2013

Wow. Fun to watch that pounding @jasondufner just put on Oak Hill. #dufnering at Dodger Stadium! pic.twitter.com/rC9Qwg0TfD
— Evan Longoria (@Evan3Longoria) August 9, 2013