ATLANTA, Georgia - Jason Dufner botched a chance to win the first title of his six-year career, squandering a four-hole lead with four holes to play and lose the PGA Championship in a playoff to Keegan Bradley.

The 34-year-old American was four up on the field and owned a five-stroke edge on Bradley after his US compatriot took a triple bogey at the par-3 15th, but Dufner made bogeys at 15, 16 and 17 while Bradley birdied 16 and 17.

In Sunday's three-hole aggregate playoff, Bradley birdied 16 again, Dufner made bogey at 17 again and Dufner's birdie at 18 was not enough to avoid a one-shot defeat when Bradley, 25, tapped in his par putt.

Far from miserable, Dufner was already finding the positives in what he hopes will not be a career-defining collapse.

"Coming from where I came from, to be in this position, it's a dream come true," he said. "I could never have imagined playing in major championships, playing with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, that's a milestone to me itself."

Dufner vows he will not be forever known as a duffer, golf slang for a mediocer player.

"I'm not going to let this define my career. I'm young, not as young as Keegan is, but I have a lot of time to play golf and hopefully I'll have more time to win majors and use what happened today as a positive."

Dufner noted the invitations to majors that come his way as the runner-up and hopes to put himself in the same position he was on the 15th tee, only this time rewrite the nightmare horror-show ending into a Cinderella story.

"I'm disappointed now, but there are a lot of good things to take from this week," Dufner said. "I'm so new to this situation as far as trying to win majors. I probably don't appreciate it as much as I might soon.

"I'm disappointed in the fact that I couldn't close it out, but I'm excited because I had a great finish in a major. It's going to open a lot of opportunities for me next year. It proves that I'm playing pretty well."

Even if the face of a humiliating defeat and after having gone winless in 142 prior US PGA starts, Dufner said his day will come.

Agence France-Presse