Sports: Duval's crash lands roughly

Golf

Duval's crash lands roughly

World's former No.1 player has missed four cuts in five stroke-play events this season with no signs of progress.

By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- When he won the Players Championship four years ago, David Duval was the toast of his hometown. Now he's just toast.

The player who once shot 59 at the Hope is hoping to break par. The player who once won four tournaments before the Masters hasn't made four cuts this season. The player who once held aloft the Claret Jug plays as if he is trying to hit a golf ball with it.

What's wrong with David Duval?

"I've experienced the pinnacle of my profession," Duval said. "And I'm experiencing a low point now."

Duval says this simply, slowly, without a hint of frustration. All golfers go through slumps, so what's the big deal?

As his hometown Players Championship begins this morning at the TPC at Sawgrass, however, it is difficult not to notice the slide.

Duval, 31, is not listed among the favorites and is almost an afterthought. He has slipped to 37th in the world rankings, his lowest position since late in the 1997 season before he won for the first time. He has missed four cuts in five stroke-play events this season and was bounced after the first round of the Match Play Championship.

Three weeks ago, Duval revealed that he had been diagnosed with positional vertigo, which led to a second-round 80 at Doral.

But that didn't explain the 79-75 last week at Bay Hill.

"That's golf. And life and golf go hand in hand," Ernie Els said. "He's had some injury problems in the last couple of years with his wrist and back. It really affects your game. You've got to be physically ready to play this game. If you're not, you're not going to hit the shots you want to hit, and it's going to affect your ability to play the way you want to play. And eventually, your confidence goes a little bit."

This is the same guy who won the Players Championship three years ago and became the first player since Johnny Miller in 1974 to win four times before the Masters.

Earlier that season, he became the third player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59. He ascended to the No.1 ranking, the last to hold the position before Tiger Woods. He added victories in 2000 and 2001, including the British Open.

Then nothing.

"I certainly am banging my head against the wall wanting to play better," Duval said. "I have no less desire than I had three years ago. It's tough to swallow. It doesn't mean I'm not working, I'm not practicing. I'm just not seeing the results.

"The difficult part of it is when you get asked about it every day like I do. The best way to perform in this game is to concentrate on the process, not the result. But when you're constantly asked about the result, it's hard not to think about the result."

Last season Duval finished 80th on the tour money list, the first time he had finished worse than 11th. He was among the top-10 just twice.

This season, the poor play has continued, and it has been attributed to myriad issues, including injuries to his back, shoulder and wrist, a change of equipment from Titleist to Nike and last year's breakup with his fiancee.

"I've called and left a few messages," Woods said. "He's just going through something every golfer has to deal with out here at some point in his career."

Apparently, however, it's not been something worth troubling the best player in the world about. Although he is friends with Woods, Duval, mostly, has kept to himself.

He typically goes about things in a singular manner, and sometimes pays the price. Duval was outspoken in his belief that players on the U.S. Ryder Cup team should be able to earmark funds for charity. He blasted the set-up of the British Open layout at Carnoustie. And he got into a nasty spat with former equipment company Titleist when he dropped the company to go with Nike.

"I've stood my ground and said what I thought in the past and tried to back it up with good logic and good reasoning," Duval said. "At times, I've been persecuted for it. And at times I've been applauded for it. That's the way I've chosen to live my life, as a stand-up guy who doesn't duck things."

Duval said his vertigo symptoms have lessened and it was not the reason for his poor scores at Bay Hill. He plans to keep playing, which includes this week's tournament and the Masters in two weeks.

And Duval, who has 13 tour titles, expects his top form to return.

"I've seen the good stuff, now I'm seeing the bad stuff," he said. "And all that can do is make you a stronger person. I've got nothing to sit here and complain to you guys about. I'm still playing golf. I'm still trying to make a living playing this game.

"Regardless of whether I shoot 70 or not, it's a pretty good way to spend your day. I've had some great success to this point, and I'll have great success again. Right now, I'm in a rough spot."