David Duval, the new Open champion,
has two faces.
One is for the public, expressionless
and laconic, giving nothing away as he strides down fairways wearing his trademark
wraparound sunglasses.
For the former world number one, focus
on the task at hand is all and, rather like the Nick Faldo of old, emotion is
an indulgence to be avoided.
This face is generally accompanied
by very few words and a Duval performance in post-round news conferences can often
be monosyllabic and forgettable.
Duval's other face, though less often
seen, is probably his more natural one. This is the open and engaging face of
a well-rounded man with varied interests, a face shed of sunglasses and full of
expression.
This version of Duval is learned and
full of conversation, as he proved so eloquently with his gracious victory speech
on the 18th green at Royal Lytham and St Annes on Sunday.
Expect this face of Duval to make several
more appearances in the future, now that the Florida-based professional has made
his long-awaited breakthrough to land a career-first major.
"You look back at it when you are done,
you realise how much you enjoy the challenge, how much you enjoy being out there,"
Duval said after a closing round of 67 secured his three-shot triumph.
"I enjoyed it. Maybe you could equate
it to working out or doing something else; when you are actually doing it, I'm
not sure how much you enjoy it.
"But when you get done, you realise
how much you did and how beneficial it can be."
This is an honest appraisal by the
29-year-old and it probably reflects two things.
Firstly, the man who lists reading,
fly-fishing, snowboarding and surfing among his special interests is able to place
golf in its rightful place. While it is his chosen profession, it is not the be-all
and end-all of life.
"You know what? It is still a silly
old game, just playing a game of golf," he said after becoming the sixth American
in the last seven years to win the Open.
"It is funny how much is made about
it because we are playing a game. I've made it a lot bigger than it is, too, at
times. Maybe that is a reason why I felt so good, maybe I finally realised it
is just a game."
The second thing reflected by Duval's
relaxed demeanour indicates he has got the proverbial monkey off his back. No
longer can he be labelled 'the greatest player not to win a major'.
Over the past 18 months, he has been
regarded as the most likely player to challenge the global supremacy of world
number one Tiger Woods.
As the top two players in the world,
they effectively went head-to-head in the final round of last year's Open at St
Andrews but Duval was hampered by a bad back and a deficit after three rounds
of six shots.
Duval finished second at the 1998 Masters,
after leading by three strokes with three holes to play, and he was right in the
frame at Augusta this year before having to settle for second place behind Woods.
"I have had my chances," he said. "I
had several tries to win on the regular tour before I won, and then I've had several
chances to win a major.
"Now that I've won my first, I would
hope that getting the second one will be easier. It might make it psychologically
easier, but it doesn't make it physically easier.
