David Duval: Emerging From the Golf Wilderness

He might have dropped out of the golf spotlight, but David Duval believes he is ready to recapture his place among golf’s elite following his superb showing at the US Open.

Having won 11 times in 18 months on the PGA Tour between October 1997 and April 1999 which included a round of 59 on the final-day of the 1999 Bope Hope Chrysler Classic, Duval briefly displaced Tiger Woods as world number one. However, he has since slumped to a lowly 882 in the world rankings following an eight-year slump in form which had seen the American fail to break the top 20 in any of his previous 50 PGA tour starts.

Having won the 2001 British Open, it seemed Duval had the golfing world at his feet but the Open win may have been the catalyst for the downward spiral Duval found himself in, and an extended break from the game followed after he finished a lowly 211th on the US money list. Health problems were cited for his decline, including back, wrist and shoulder problems as well as off-course issues, but it was patently clear that Duval’s career was in terminal decline.

Never a fan favourite, – Duval’s manner and demeanour on the course didn’t endear him to many – galleries began to empathise with the player during his struggles on the course, and it is perhaps the crowd support which has slowly helped Duval regain some standing in the world of golf.

Now, following his display at Bethpage Black, New York, which saw him tie briefly for the lead with only two holes to play Duval will hope to build on what was his best showing since winning the Open at Royal Lytham all those years ago.

Meeting reporters after leaving the final green, Duval said he was happy with his performance, but not the outcome, and felt he could have won the tournament. At only 37, and now enjoying his golf again after years in the doldrums, it appears there’s plenty of life left in the old ‘young’ dog.

“I may have taken it a little bit for granted years ago,” Duval said. “But today I had a lot more fun out there in the heat of it, especially over there on the theater of 15 through 17, 18, than I’ve had on a golf course in a long time.”

His Bethpage Black performance say him leap a massive 740 places in the world rankings to 142nd and he climbs to 82nd in the money list – sparking hope he will retain his Tour card. With Duval now into the final year of his PGA Tour exemption, he must attain a place within the top 125 players to retain his card – his performance at Bethpage will go a long way to helping him achieve that.

US Open Review: Glover holds nerve to triumph over Bethpage

2009’s US Open at Bethpage Black, New York will be remembered for the wrong reasons, as well as the right ones. In the ‘wrong’ corner it will be remembered for its opening day washout which saw play suspended after only three hours’ play due to incessant, heavy rain.

It will also be remembered for a ticket wrangle which threatened to leave thousands of paying customers deprived of watching any golf save on the television, after the USGA suggested that spectators who had bought tickets for Thursday only to see the day swept aside by the elements would not be allowed to use their ticket to view another day’s play.

However, like the weather the USGA relented and allowed golf to come to the fore in what will go down as one of the most memorable US Opens in recent memory for many of the right reasons. It will be remembered as being Phil Mickelson’s fifth runners-up finish in the tournament. It will be remembered for Ricky Barnes’ calamitous 36-hole meltdown which saw him throw away a six-stroke lead. And it will be remembered for David Duval’s return from the golfing wilderness to challenge for the title right to the end. But most of all, it will be remembered for a show of true grit by eventual winner, Lucas Glover, who held his nerve when he needed it the most to collect his biggest pay day and first major championship.

Glover, who before the US Open, had been ranked 71st in the world and had a solitary tour victory to his name – the Funai Classic in 2005 – had been widely expected to wilt in the pressure-cooker environment of Bethpage, especially when crowd favourite Mickelson began a charge towards the top of the leaderboard. And he wasn’t alone as several other players launched their own bids for glory and no-one could confidently predict a winner until the closing few holes of play.

Tiger Woods, the defending champion and pre-tournament favourite, was written out of the equation by many and he sought to defy hefty odds against him being among the leaders at the business end. However, there’s no doubting he could have been if he had remembered to pack is putting touch for the final day as birdie putt after birdie putt slipped agonisingly past the hole. Standing on the 15th tee, having carded two successive birdies to get to one-under par and within touching distance of the lead, the wheels came off for Tiger and the 15th hole, which had caused Woods so much trouble throughout the week, dented his hopes of mixing it at the top of the leaderboard. Carding a bogey meant Woods had dropped four shots to the hole over the tournament and was to prove too much of a mountain to climb, even for Woods. He did however refuse to give in and he made chances for birdies on each of the closing holes which, as was the story for Woods’ challenge, refused to drop when he needed them to drop.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson had steadily crept into contention but it was a superb eagle on the 13th that got him into a share of the lead and for so many in the crowd, it might have felt that ‘Lefty’ was about to put his US Open hoodoo to bed. It would have been a poignant victory for the popular American given his relationship with the New York galleries and his off-course problems but with only four holes left and still tying for the lead, Mickelson shot himself in the foot with bogey on the 15th and 17th holes to drop off the lead he shared with Glover and Duval, before eventually finishing in a tie for second with long-time leader Ricky Barnes who had a closing round to forget.

England’s Ross Fisher, who was bidding to become the first British winner of the US Open since Tony Jacklin also briefly threatened to lift the title. Emulating Mickelson, Fisher also carded an eagle on the 13th to move to within one of the lead, but like so many of the others couldn’t build on the momentum and eventually dropped back into a share of fifth place.

After setting a 36-hole US Open scoring record, reaching 11-under par during his third round, it appeared that Barnes had disappeared over the horizon and the field were playing for second place. However, the wheels came off in spectacular fashion for the 2002 US Amateur champion as he bogeyed 12 of his final 24 holes to throw away a seemingly unassailable lead, shooting a final round of 76, 6-over-par. It got so bad that colour commentator Butch Harmon remarked that Barnes’ game ‘needed a tourniquet’ due to the way he haemorrhaged strokes. However, a share of the runners-up purse and qualification to the British Open and 2010 Masters and US Opens was still a fine reward for a player who had spent the preceding four seasons on the Nationwide Tour, making a meagre six cuts and pocketing just shy of $69,000 dollars in 12 PGA tour events this year.

Former world number one, David Duval emerged from eight years in golf’s wilderness to almost snatch a fairytale victory. Now ranked a lowly 882nd in the world, Duval had failed to break the top 20 in each of his previous 50 PGA tour events, but the 2001 Open winner threatened to upstage his more illustrious counterparts at the head of the table. However, like Mickelson he bogeyed the 17th to leave Lucas Glover in front and it was a case of the American holding his nerve to collect the prize and he did just that.

However, Glover had had to endure his own mini-meltdown and had dropped three shots before the turn before rallying and it was the birdie he made on the 16th to give him a two stroke cushion which won the tournament for him. Having started the day with a five-shot lead which he had shared with playing partner Ricky Barnes, it seemed both men had been intent on throwing the win away. However, the man from South Carolina, who had started the tournament as a 250/1 also-ran, dug deep when he had to and his closing round of 73 was enough to lift the giant silver trophy at the end of a nail-biting finale to the season’s second major.

Scottish Open draws a host of top names

The Scottish Open, to be held at Loch Lomond from 9-12th July inclusive has attracted some strong competition hoping to wrestle the crown from defending champion, Graeme McDowell.

In addition to McDowell, the line up will feature no less than eleven major winners including the current US Masters champion, Angel Cabrera, along with former major championship winners Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman.

The Scottish Open has traditionally been seen by many as a pipe-opener to the Open championship, with many using the event to acclimatise to playing in the UK, and while it has always drawn a strong field to the event, the 2009 renewal is shaping up to be one of the strongest on record.

Other names to appear among the field for the Loch Lomond spectacular include Open veteran, Sir Nick Faldo along with Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas, Adam Scott and Boo Weekley. Colin Montgomerie, the European captain for the 2010 Ryder Cup match at the Celtic Manor, Wales will also line up.

The home nation is well represented at Loch Lomond and there are no less than twelve Scots among the field, and includes Scottish amateur champion Callum MacAulay, who is competing in his first year on the tour as a professional.

There will, however, be no Phil Mickelson, who having been a regular to the Loch Lomond course in previous years has suspended his schedule due to his wife Amy’s illness and is unlikely to feature at the Open championship at Turnberry in addition to missing the Scottish Open.

Open Championship 2009 – Turnberry Review

Turnberry’s Ailsa Course – The Finest Links in the World

With the Open Championship just weeks away, all eyes are drawn towards Scotland’s Ayrshire coastline. Turnberry has been closed for play since November 2008 to create possibly the best condition Open Championship venue in history. This combined with some subtle changes to the Ailsa course makes this one Read more

US Masters Tickets – Golf’s golden event

Having watched the US Masters on tv for more years than I care to remember, 2009 was the year I decided to take the plunge and travel to the hallowed fairways of Augusta National. Unfortunately all the rumours are true regarding Augusta’s exclusivity, there is no event in golf which is harder to get into. With tickets exchanging for more money than most golf club memberships I was excited if a little apprehensive when I made my way to one of golf’s Mecca’s.

Having searched online and seen many different packages I finally settled on an all-inclusive holiday with yourgolftravel. The package included direct flights to Atlanta Airport, transfers to Augusta, 4* accommodation as well as tickets and fully inclusive hospitality. I wasn’t left wanting for anything during this trip and would fully recommend it.

From the moment you enter the gates on Berckmans Road, you are overwhelmed by a sense of privilege and exclusivity that you very rarely experience at any event. Having attended some of the best sporting events including the Superbowl and World Cup final, I can safely say that the Masters is up there with the very best. As you walk through the main gate you are greeted by security screens where your badge is scanned and you are given a guide to find your way around the undulating course. Wisely not far from the entrance is the superb proshop where you can buy a wide range of products all featuring that unique Augusta National logo. The average spend of each patron is rumoured to be around $500 per person, given the many requests I have from golfing friends it’s easy to see how this figure is achieved, that saying the goods are well priced (polo shirts from $59).

After the proshop you now approach the first tee. Given the exclusivity of the event the crowds are very small, even around focal points such as the first tee you never struggle to find a position and there is no jostling for the best view as they are easy to come by because of the slopes which are all around the course. The course looks every bit as good as it does on tv, there is almost no rough and the course looks perfect, so perfect in fact that there isn’t a leaf or twig out of place it looks as if someone has gone round the course with a hoover!

Due to this lack of rough the course actually does appear quite manageable but as soon as you approach the greens it’s easy to see why Augusta gets its fierce reputation for some of the toughest greens in golf. With lots of undulations and slopes around, the greens do their best to keep the ball away from the hole as much as possible! Looking from some positions it’s hard to see how you’d even keep the ball on the green let alone near the hole!

Having spent the week walking around the course and watching one of golf’s great tournaments you are still left with a sense of disappointment at the end of play on Sunday. Firstly your Masters experience is over and secondly how are you going to get onto to play this golfing masterpiece?!

Although my Augusta experience was only 4 days, I can assure you it has left something etched on my golfing soul and the smile it carries with me will last a lifetime.

Dan Foster travelled to the 2009 US Masters with Your Golf Travel.com who offer ticket, golf, accommodation and flight packages starting from £1770 per person with full ABTA and ATOL security for peace of mind. For further information visit http://www.yourgolftravel.com/us-masters.html

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