America At Large: At 5.44 p.m. this past Monday, Vijay Singh holed out on the 18th green at TPC Boston to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, thereby officially displacing runner-up Tiger Woods from the number one world ranking he had maintained for 264 consecutive weeks.
Although Tiger hadn't performed like the world's best golfer for well over a year, the ceremonial passing of the torch was considered an occasion sufficiently momentous that another milestone achieved earlier the same afternoon went all but unnoticed: David Duval cashed his first pay cheque in 15 months.
Although Duval had been the last golfer before Woods to hold the number-one ranking, his golf game had so thoroughly degenerated he had sent it into hibernation for the past year. He briefly emerged from his cave back in June, only to embarrass himself with rounds of 83, 82 and see-you-later in the US Open at Shinnecock Hills. Then, after flying across the Atlantic, the 2001 British Open winner had withdrawn at Royal Troon on the eve of the Championship.
In August 2003, after missing the cut at The International at Castle Pines, Duval found himself in a Denver saloon, where he made the acquaintance of Susie Persichitte, a single mother of three. "She didn't know who I was or what I did," said Duval. The two hit it off, and it was to her he returned when he left the tour for good two months later. They were married six months ago.
When he moved to Colorado last fall, Duval opened an account at a nearby bank, but until this week he had never had the need to fill out a deposit slip. On Saturday he achieved one breakthrough when he made his first cut since June of 2003. Two days later he fired an inspired round of 67 to post his first top-20 finish in nearly two years. His four-day aggregate of 279 left him tied for 13th place in the Deutsche Bank event, and his share of the purse was $93,750.
"Well," he exclaimed. "Good for me!" As reporters crowded about him when he emerged from the scorer's cabin on Monday, one remarked to Duval he appeared, at least for one day, to have become a media favourite. "I was never your favourite," he replied. But, perhaps because his struggles on the golf course reminded them of their own, the galleries in Massachusetts last weekend embraced him.
"For me it's hard to really respond to it, because I didn't expect it at all," said Duval. "I'm very appreciative and thankful for the reception I've been given. It started back in New York when I played at the US Open, but up here it seemed even greater."
Duval's excellent adventure in the New England woods could have been even better had he not made sixes on the opening hole in both the third and fourth rounds. "Somehow I managed to start out both days doubling the first hole," said Duval. "It's probably the easiest hole on the course. But I was proud of myself for hanging tough and coming back each day. I played well both days on the weekend, especially considering that I'm working on stuff."
Duval said he could feel his confidence rebuilding with each round he played over the holiday weekend. Had he somehow had a feeling things would work out right this time?
"With where I've been and how I've played, 'working out right' is a bit relative," said Duval. "My success levels at the moment aren't based on finishes, but I played well enough for a long enough period of time that I do know what good golf's about."
After pulling out at Royal Troon, Duval had returned to Colorado, where he had spent countless hours playing and practicing and working on swing changes suggested by his new swing guru, Hank Haney, who has also been working with Woods. Just a week before flying to Boston he had played two balls in a solo practice round at Cherry Creek in Denver. Playing from the back tees, he shot 63 with one ball, 66 with the other.
"All I can say is I knew I was doing the right things," said Duval. "I was home, playing lots of rounds of golf and hitting lots of balls. I know I was on the right track, but there's still a matter of gaining enough confidence to do it out here. This," he sighed, "is an entirely different ball game."
Still, in a few short weeks he has gone from a man unable to find a fairway to a serious contender. He played well enough in Boston that he's even talking about trying to win a golf tournament before the year is out. You'd assume, then, his Labour Day weekend would have been a most satisfying experience.
"Yeah, but as a golfer, are you ever satisfied? Whether you're playing on tour or you're a 15-handicapper playing at home, you're never satisfied," said Duval. "But I'm very pleased. I feel like I'm doing the things I need to do to play well, and I think my scores this week show I'm on the right path. At least I know I'm playing well enough to compete."
Five years ago Duval, as we have mentioned, had been the last man not named Eldrick to hold the world's number one title, and, although he is a close friend and frequent golfing-and-fishing companion to Tiger, he offered his own unique perspective to last weekend's shake-up in the rankings. In Duval's view, that it took this long for the line of succession to assert itself exposes some serious shortcomings in the system itself.
"As a player, I think I was in the position that Vijay's in now," said Duval. "You start to wonder how the system works, because I wasn't ranked number one, but I was thought of as number one for probably at least 12 months before I got there. That's similar to where Vijay has been. I think you could have made a reasonable argument over whether Vijay or Phil Mickelson should be number one, but it certainly should have been one of the two."
