Before I head out the door to defile the Donald Ross designed fairways of my beloved Timuquana Country Club with my presently under construction golf swing, I'd like to make a couple of notes.
Yesterday, Timuquana member David Duval qualififed for the U.S. Open field at Bethpage by firing 69, 72 at the regional qualifier held at Brookside and The Lakes golf courses in Ohio. The Ohio qualifier boasted a strong field made up of many non-Open-exempt pros on hand after competing at this past weekend's Memorial Tournament.
Duval seems to be committing himself to a PGA Tour comeback, enlisting former college coach Puggy Blackmon as his current swing tutor and playing a healthy schedule of Tour events. Duval essentially fell off the face of the planet after capturing his long-pursued first major with the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's. Despite realizing his careerlong goal, Duval was left unfulfilled. The ever-withdrawn golfer receded further from the national spotlight, retreating to Colorado where he started a family life and seemingly began enjoying snowboarding and fly fishing greater than trying to attempt to recapture his former world number 1 ranking. (Fun fact: Duval is the last Caucasian to hold golf's number 1 ranking, which he attained in 1999 before being succeded by Tiger Woods, who has since only relinquished the title once to Vijay Singh.) While critics speculate Duval has lost his competitive edge, his recent actions intimate he might be positioning himself for a serious attempt to return to prominence.
Deucedbrains will print its inaugural "Insignificant Athlete of the 1990's" feature tomorrow, a weekly article bringing into focus a forgotten, or perhaps never recognized, athlete who we feel deserves your temporary respect.
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