The game of golf is a truly fickle game. For the dedicated weekend duffer, breaking 80 for the first time in your life can be a grand experience. But you’re brought right back down to earth the next time you go out and that 79 turns into a 92. That’s golf. Everyone knows it’s undeniable. But nobody knows this better than David Duval.
At 42-years old, David Duval is giving it one last shot at PGA Tour stardom. On Tuesday, Duval sent out a series of Tweets that carried over to Wednesday, when he said he’s been working hard at his game and if he can get enough sponsors exemptions into PGA Events in 2014 then it should be up to him to perform. If he doesn’t perform, then he will find something else to do.
You can read the series of Tweets on his Twitter page @David59Duval. This comes from a guy who has earned $18,852,383 in career earnings and won 13 times on the PGA Tour from 1997-2001, including The Open Championship in 2001. He also held #1 in the World Golf Rankings in April 1999 for a brief time before someone by the name of Tiger came along.
But after the 2001 Open Championship, it went south for Duval. Injuries galore – wrists, shoulders, backs – plagued him since he last one in 2001, along with his bout with vertigo. There’s been reports of personal problems along with financial rumors which he has addressed publicly. All these unfortunate events has dropped David Duval to No 1,528 in the World Rankings and fighting for his livelihood on the PGA Tour in 2014.
As mentioned above, golf is a fickle game. It will beat you up and spit on you. The game is bigger than anyone on the course. For David Duval, golf is how he pays the bills. It’s how he keeps it warm in his house in Denver. It’s how he feeds his kids.
For me, I would like to see David Duval get his form back. Maybe he will never win again on the PGA Tour, but I think it would be nice for him to get some exemptions and see him play well on Tour again. I can’t say it enough, but golf doesn’t care who you are. David Duval knows this and based on his Tweets, he seems genuine in his statements.
I hope to see him get some chances and play well. It would be one hell of a comeback story if he can get back to winning form.
(Photo courtesy of DavidDuval.org)
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