|
David Duval in contention after 66
David Duval has mastered
the art of getting in position to win The Masters. Next comes the
hard part.
Duval shot
a 6-under 66 today to finish the second round at 7 under, tied for
fourth place at the time, giving him yet another good chance to
win his first major championship.
Golf fans have
been down this road before with Duval, only to watch him come up
short under the immense pressure of trying to break through.
Duval has led
at the midway point at Augusta twice in the last three years. Since
1998, he has finished second, sixth, and third. He blew his chance
to win last year after hitting an indecisive 5-iron into Rae's Creek
on No. 13.
Strange as
it seems, Duval plans to draw on his Masters experiences as he prepares
for another weekend in contention.
 |
|
David
Duval misses a short birdie putt on 15. Allsport.
|
"All they can
do is help,'' he said. "I've been there three straight years. I
know what the feelings are like, I know what to expect. That's invaluable
here. I know the golf shots you have to hit and I know how you're
going to feel standing over them.''
In the second
round, Duval was deadly with his short irons, taking much of the
guesswork out of the fast, sloping greens that make Augusta such
a challenge.
He hit a sand
shot to 5 feet on No. 2 for his first birdie, hit a wedge to 3 feet
for another on No. 7 and gave himself easy two-putts for birdie
on a pair of par-5s, Nos. 8 and 13.
He made bogey
on 16, but regained the stroke on the final hole, sticking a sand
wedge to a foot, then tapping in and walking off with that calm
wave to a gallery that has grown used to seeing him late on Sundays.
Last year,
Duval was chasing Vijay Singh on the final day. He had a 196-yard
shot on the par-5 13th hole, and stood there for about five minutes,
testing the wind, unsure of which club to use to clear the creek
and give himself a chance for eagle. He opted for the 5-iron. It
bounced into the water, and his chance to win was gone.
In 1998, he
had a three-stroke lead over Mark O'Meara thanks to a solid round
of 67. He watched helplessly on TV as O'Meara, still on the course,
took the tournament away.
A hard-luck
loser, or did he create his own problems?
"I think everyone
in this room would agree that you have to have good breaks to win
this golf tournament,'' Duval said. "My intent is to not need those
breaks. I'm trying to eliminate every mistake so I don't need a
break. But if I need one, I'd surely like to get one.''
Duval missed
three weeks because of tendinitis in his right wrist, but returned
for The Masters. He feels fine, although Thursday still felt like
something of a crap shoot when he came to the course.
All fears were
alleviated when he knocked his first driver 290 yards down the No.
1 fairway. Now, suddenly, the wrist injury might seem like an advantage
instead of a problem.
"If I have
one thing going for me, it's that I'm the freshest guy in the field,''
he said. "There's no doubt about that.''
|
