GOLF INTERVIEW DAVID DUVAL: PAUL GALLAGHERfinds the man in the wraparound shades happy his game is back on track. Keep working at it, he says, and the results will follow

IT MAY be somewhat premature to label David Duval the Renaissance Man but the 2001 British Open champion is definitely back on the radar after time spent in the golfing wilderness. A genuine tilt at last month’s US Open at Bethpage not only rolled back the years for the player but reminded onlookers he still has the capability to challenge for majors.

Earlier in the week a heavier-set Duval strolled off the 18th green after a leisurely practice round at Turnberry. A range of flop-shots around the final green were interspersed by laughs and jokes with his playing partners. Duval was back in the big time and part of an environment he still craves, even if recent years have not been kind in golfing terms.

But that’s the thing with the 37-year-old, he doesn’t feel hard done by, he doesn’t even seem bothered whether he gets back to the dizzy heights from whence he came as a former world number one. Right now it’s about playing the right shots and doing the right things on the golf course, and if they bear fruit then well and good for the laid-back Florida native.

“I’ve known for a while that I’m getting back to a certain level where I know I can compete again,” said Duval, who took time to sign autographs while he made his way to the practice putting green behind the 18th grandstands at Turnberry.

Ask him to recall his runner-up finish at Bethpage a matter of weeks ago and the hint of a satisfied grin emerges from under the cap and behind those infamous wraparound tinted sunglasses.

“Bethpage was a whole lot of fun. I enjoy golf courses when they are long and hard like that. I just felt really good that weekend in New York. I enjoyed controlling the golf ball and hitting it well.”

“If anyone has been really paying attention to what I have been saying for the last year I have been suggesting I’m close to getting back to my best again. I believe in the last six or seven months I turned another corner, have played well but quite often just haven’t got anything out of it in terms of results,” added Duval, whose PGA Tour stats still don’t make for great reading this season.

Up until the British Open Duval has teed it up in 15 PGA Tour events; he withdrew from one (FBR Open), missed the cut in nine, was outside the top 50 in four others, and then comes the Bethpage fairytale.

He came through qualifying before posting rounds of 67, 70, 70, 71 for a two-under aggregate and was in contention coming down the stretch. He picked up almost €400,000 at Bethpage, and jumped a massive 740 places in the world rankings, from 882 to 142. He is currently 145th.

“It’s nice to go through a process of a lot of hard work over many years and get back into the mix,” added Duval, who was forced back to the drawing board after a number of injuries sabotaged his game.

“People think I lost my appetite, I don’t think that’s true, rather I had a lot of things go against me for a while. I was fighting injuries for many years and those injuries basically wrecked my golf swing. I tried to play through it but ended up doing more damage.

“As a professional golfer I would have been better served to simply have stopped playing in early 2002, then come back and put my golf game back together as opposed to continually playing with a bad back, bad shoulders and a wrist that was messed up.

“I don’t mean surgery but tendonitis is a pretty rough thing to deal with as far as pain is concerned. In hindsight I should have taken time off.

“Playing through the injuries also made recovery time longer because I had to put the whole jigsaw back together again plus rebuild my confidence – that was probably the most difficult thing to regain,” was Duval’s honest assessment of the low period, when his career went into freefall shortly after lifting the Claret Jug at Lytham in 2001 – still his last competitive win.

As if the injuries weren’t enough he also endured a bizarre bout of vertigo that completely derailed a golf game that was already fragile at best.

“I first suffered vertigo around 2002/2003,” he recalls. “It’s hard to explain to somebody unless you’ve lived with it. The best way I can equate it is if you’ve been out at the pub a little too long then you lay down on you bed and the room starts spinning – that’s how you feel all the time.

“It affected everyday stuff. Twice I was having a shower and literally fell over. There was no rhyme or reason to it – your equilibrium gets so messed up. And believe me, it doesn’t help your golf swing.”

The thing with Duval is golf is not the be all and end. “You know, I’ve always had interests outside of playing golf. As you say, the outdoor activities like skiing or hunting and family commitments are just some of the things that keep me busy.”

“I’m not the sort of player who wants to go and hit balls every day when I’m not at a competitive event. I take good breaks away with my family and I’m smart enough to know that being mentally fresh is as important as anything else.”

Even when Duval was at the height of his powers his swing was hardly one to inspire great envy. It was far from a classic swing like Tom Watson’s, but rather a unique, yet highly effective action capable of knocking Tiger Woods of top spot in the world rankings in April 1999, the year he eagled the last hole to shoot a magical 59 at the Bob Hope Classic.

In 1999 he also won the Players Championship at Sawgrass, the same day his father Bob won on the Champions Tour (Emerald Coast Classic). Finding that repetitive swing again and trusting it under pressure has been Duval’s mantra in recent times.

“I’ve had an enjoyable process of learning the game again,” said the 13-time PGA Tour winner. “I’ve just been trying to swing the golf club, finding out how I’m most comfortable. From there it has been a case of building a repetitive golf swing again and get comfortable with what I’m doing. From there I had to work on getting my confidence back.

“You can hit the ball great (on the range) but if you are not confident in what you’re doing when you get to the golf course then there are problems.

“I have deliberately made a big mental effort to gain confidence in what I’m doing. Even when I miss cuts I’m still taking the positives – really paying attention to what I’m doing.”

Does he aspire to get back to number one in the world?

“I understand the question and I most certainly want to win golf tournaments again. But I can honestly say I have more interest in playing well rather than chasing specific goals like being world number one again,” he says.

“Controlling the golf ball is what interests me right now. The other things will take care of themselves. At the same time if I play the way I know I can then I believe I still have the ability to challenge for that top spot – at least in theory.”

Duval may have to wait a little longer before he fires on all cylinders again but he is glad to be back in the spotlight and facing the pressures that only major championships can provide.

“Busy is a good way to describe the week of a major, a little chaotic too,” he says. “It takes some mental energy to stay focused because of all the peripheral stuff going on around the actual part of playing golf. There is definitely more pressure.

“I believe you just get more used to it (pressure) and get more comfortable with the feelings. At Bethpage it felt for me like an old friend was back. It felt great and if anything I felt more comfortable than I did 10 years ago.

“With those birdies coming down the stretch I was having a great time paying attention to what I was doing and enjoying the people and the crowds.”

“There is a saying that gets thrown out there a lot and it’s true, ‘If you’re not nervous on Sunday afternoon, it means you’re not playing very well’. We all feel the pressure just like anyone else, but it’s something you strive for in your career, to be in contention on the last nine holes of a major. It’s what the game is all about.”

Duval may have gained a few pounds during the lean years but he still knows how to put bat on ball and challenging for majors is still very much on his radar.

David Duval Profile

Date of Birth:November 9th, 1971

Birthplace:Jacksonville, Florida

Height:6ft

Weight:180lbs

Turned Pro: 1993

Duval’s wins

1997:(3) Michelob Championship, Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, Tour Championship

1998: (4) Tucson Chrysler Classic, Shell Houston Open, NEC World Series of Golf, Michelob Championship

1999:(4) Mercedes Championships, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Players Championship, BellSouth Classic

2000:(1) Buick Challenge 2001: (1) British Open.