And it was 2013 Masters champion Scott who prevailed in the play-off, coolly downing a seven-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole for his 11th PGA Tour triumph and a career sweep of the four Texas tournaments.

The 33-year-old Australian had been in danger of losing his place at the top of the world rankings after just one week, depending on how Henrik Stenson fared in the BMW PGA Championship.

But the Swede’s joint seventh-place finish at Wentworth left Scott requiring only a top-13 placing at Colonial to remain at the summit, and he never looked in danger of slipping that far down the leaderboard.

Scott and Dufner each parred the 18th to begin the play-off, then both birdied 17 before returning to play 18 for the third time in the day.

Having sunk a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th in regulation, 2013 USPGA champion Dufner this time rolled another long attempt four feet past, though, meaning Scott had a seven-foot putt for victory and he made no mistake.

“This is a really special week for me,” Scott said on Sky Sports 4. “It was no matter what happened here, but to fight my way back into this tournament, around this golf course... it’s a real honour to win here. It’s a beauty.

“There were some ups and downs, for sure, on the course, but it was great.

“I was determined. I wanted to have a chance at this one because I really wanted to win them all here in Texas.”

Scott’s latest Texas triumph added to the 2007 Shell Houston Open, the 2008 HP Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas and the 2010 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Speaking after his round but before the play-off, Scott commented: “I felt I was playing well – I just had to limit the mistakes for the back nine and did a pretty good job of that.

“It’s a good test for me because it’s a very different kind of golf course - one I enjoy very much. We don’t play this style very much and I see my game shaping up nicely.”