NEWS AND NOTES
Another Duval Rises, On the Senior Tour
Posted: Wed November 12, 1997
The best player who has yet to win a tour event might still
answer to the name Duval. While that title may no longer fit
David Duval, who won his last three starts on the PGA Tour this
season, it may have been inherited by his father, Bob. At last
week's Senior Tour Championship, the elder Duval capped an
impressive rookie year by tying for the lead after the second
round before fading to a tie for seventh. That upped his 1997
earnings to $555,601 and left him 28th on the final money list.
A former club pro who honed his game on the Golden Bear
mini-tour last year, the 51-year-old Duval won a playoff for the
15th and next-to-last conditional exemption at the 1996 Senior
Q school. He got off to a slow start this year but had 11 top 20
finishes, including a pair of seconds, in his final 14 starts.
He attributes the turnaround in his game to the less defensive
style of play he adopted this summer. A long hitter and an
aggressive player, Duval had been bunting three-woods off the
tee to stay in the fairway. "At the Northville Long Island
Classic in August, I told John Bland what I was doing,'' says
Duval. "He said, 'Why? Just hit it as far as you can and go
chase it.'" Duval took advantage of his length to climb into the
top 10 in eagles, birdies and driving distance.
Duval was the last to make the 31-man field at Myrtle Beach. He
failed to qualify for the last full-field event, the Ralphs
Senior Classic, and ended up only $2,080 ahead of No. 32 Bob
Dickson. "It was hard sitting on the sidelines not being able to
defend what you have done all year," says Duval. "I don't have
the Golf Channel at home, but I figured I would hold on to 31st.
We had the car packed for South Carolina, but I wasn't sure, so
I called the Tour office. I said, 'Am I officially 31st or not?'
They said, 'You are.' I said, 'Thank you. I'm heading to Myrtle
Beach.'"
Issue date: November 17, 1997
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