Golf: Duval battles his demons

Remember David Duval? He was the guy with the dark glasses who briefly displaced Tiger Woods from the top of the world rankings back in 1999.

He went on to win the 2001 British Open and then, painfully, faded away like Ian Baker-Finch, the Aussie who won the British Open and a couple of years later couldn't break 80.

Duval's slump has been different, but almost as devastating.

The good news is that it seems to be over.

As Vijay Singh snatched the world ranking crown from Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Duval made his first cut for over a year. And it got better. He closed with rounds of 70 and 67 for 13th place and a cheque for US$93,750 ($143,487).

New Zealanders first saw Duval in 1990 when he was in the US team which shared second place with New Zealand in the Eisenhower tournament at Christchurch.

When the Kiwis won the title in Vancouver two years later, Duval was the star of the second-placed American side.

His golden period came between 1997 and 1999 when he won 11 of the 34 US PGA tournaments he entered.

In 1999 he joined a select group when he shot 59 in the Bob Hope Classic and there was no surprise that he became world number one.

He remained an enigma behind his dark glasses, which he said he wore because of an allergy but others suggested he used to keep the world out. He won the British Open but by the next year his game was in trouble.

Some suggested it was the result of swing changes. Others questioned his dedication or blamed the breakup of an eight-year relationship.

Whatever it was, the 33-year-old took a break from golf towards the end of last season and didn't reappear until the US Open, where he had rounds of 83 and 82 to miss the cut.

He also failed at the International and PGA Championships.

But this week may have set him on the path to his old form and hopefully a happier life.

As former PGA champion Shaun Micheel said: "I hope he comes back, but winning never made him happy."

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Leading Aucklander Logan Holzer had a Minties moment during the Auckland-Wellington match at Taupo last weekend.

The Grange player had an air shot with his driver on the 17th tee of his game with Richard Pegg.

The good news was that Holzer played his second a metre or so forward where the divot had propelled the ball, then put his third close to the hole for a conceded par. He halved the hole and the game.

Wellington presented him with an L plate at the prizegiving.