Is Duval back? Has the former world No. 1 and British Open champion, the guy who once shot 59 in the final round to win, the golfer with 13 wins on tour, found his game again?
Duval told the media at the start of the season that he's playing as good as he has in ages; that he's confident, that he fully expects to win again. Of course, he said the same things in 2009. And 2008. And 2007. And ... you get the picture.
Finally, in 2010, might Duval be on to something?
Let's step back and remember what happened last year. Duval played great all week at the U.S. Open, was in the mix very late into the final round, finished tied for second. Great showing. His best in a long time.
He made only one cut the rest of 2009. And Duval had made only four cuts in 13 tries prior to the 2009 U.S. Open. That runner-up finish looked a lot more like a fluke than a harbinger of things to come.
His runner-up at Pebble Beach? I'm not discounting this one so quickly; Duval looked very good. But he has a lot of convincing to do. He played two tournaments prior to Pebble. He made one cut, finishing 76th at the Northern Trust Open; in seven total rounds, Duval was in the 60s three times. But two of those good scores were at the Hope, where everyone shoots good scores, and Duval missed the cut.
But at Pebble Beach, Duval reeled off four rounds in the 60s. The last time Duval did that was the 2002 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.
Comments
yes, the tournaments he has contended at previously were tournaments where it did not require low scores. during his struggles he has become a much better grinder out of necessity. if you notice his irons catch fire when he stands closer to the ball like he did in his glory years. when he stands farther away he tends to flip at impact. todays result was neither here nor there, he wants augusta!
Being a huge Duval fan I will always hope he wins once again. He has been trying to dig himself out of this hole for almost 7 years now and it’s a credit to his character that he still wants to play golf and win.
I really thought his best chance may have come last year at the Open but lets hope not.
I have been a DD fan since forever.I liked many things about him and his game. The thing I liked most though, was the fact he was the only pro on tour in my view, that wasn’t intimidated 1 iota by Tiger Woods.I personally believe he was the only player Woods was actually intimidated by.I realize there’s more sand in the bottom of the hour glass than in the top, but be it in my heart or in my head,I know he has it in him to lift a trophy again. Either way I’ll always be a fan.