David Duval will be back

David Duval’s story is so well known, it’s bears no purpose to recount in agonizing detail. In short, he was a college hotshot who came on Tour and played very well right off the bat. But he had this little problem to get over: he couldn’t close the deal and win. (I wonder if this sounds familiar to the Wie-Warriors?) High finish after high finish, he would have to endure the question from the press: Why aren’t you winning? Common perception amongst the players was that this kid was so good, once he figures it out, the wins will come in bunches. Right, they were, Yoda. He climbed all the way to Number 1 in the World Rankings and then finally won the 2001 Open Championship for his very first major title. Many in the golfing world thought it was he - not Tiger Woods - who would be The Man. Wrong. Everything went swiftly downhill and Duval slid off the face of the earth, becoming less than a shadow of his former self.

Fast forward to Japan a few days ago. He shoots a terrific 64 to grab the first day lead. That was quite something and a welcome sight. But seriously, against all hope, did I think “well, here comes the second round 75 and ultimately another low finish"? Yes, I did. One has to wonder if Duval wasn’t thinking exactly the same thing based upon his 2005 results. In case you haven’t been following, the sad tale is this: 20 tournaments entered in 2005, 1 made cut. One. So he steps on the 1st tee yesterday and bogies the first hole. After 8 straight pars Duval bogies the 10th. Two over par for the day through 10 holes, his mind MUST be reeling, as he ponders yet another discouraging event. But apparently, that was what WE would have been thinking.

Duval birdied 11, 12 & 14 and, as if to put a punctuation on it, he birdied the last to catch Tiger and get within one shot of the lead. Duval, you see, has the heart of a champion. He knows what it takes to win. He knows that he can fight through adversity. Well, Shanks, you ask, how did he know that? Quite simply, because he has done it before. Who knows what will happen next. But Duval has turned a big corner and will be back to contender status in the near future. And not a moment too late as his exempt status gained from winning the Open runs out at the end of 2006.