He is not, as someone implied Tuesday, a "dullard."

"You haven't clarified whether you're talking about my personality or my golf game," Duval said with slight agitation.

Nor is he Michael Jordan, a suggestion that made him squirm in his seat.

"Please," he said. ``I think that's entirely inappropriate.''

Somewhere in between is a player willing to embrace fame without believing he deserves it, someone who regards all this attention as a responsibility rather than a right.

"It doesn't bother me, no," Duval said. ``I embrace it. There again, I believe it's my responsibility now. It's part of playing tournament golf. I think everybody knows I wouldn't seek attention. But I firmly believe it's my duty to be here and do the best I can."

Duval is not Tiger Woods, who became one of golf's biggest (and richest) stars before he could legally drink and handled the media blitz as if he had spent a lifetime preparing.

He is not Fred Couples, who became America's most popular player after winning the Masters in 1992 and couldn't flee the publicity fast enough.

"I might be in the process of becoming a golf star or whatever you want to call it," Duval said. "But I'm not like Tiger in the sense that Tiger's a star. He is outside the game. I don't think because I've surpassed him at No. 1 that I've been given more responsibility."

The responsibility is even greater this week in the Masters, and for good reason.

Duval has drawn comparisons to Nick Price for winning at least four tournaments in consecutive years, to Tom Watson for winning 11 times in his last 34 tournaments, and to Johnny Miller for winning four times before making the drive down Magnolia Lane.

He stopped by Augusta National for about two hours on Monday to register and have lunch. When the clam chowder arrived, there was a fly in his soup.

This became big news.

"Does everybody know about that?" Duval said, hand over his eyes. ``I'm going to get in big trouble."

Mostly, what everyone wants to know is how he can keep so calm on the course, whether he's closing in on the first Sunday 59 in tour history or surviving U.S. Open-like conditions before a hometown gallery in The Players Championship.

And how he remains so steady in the face of stardom.

"His golf game is incredible," Couples said. ``He's winning, and it looks very easy. And people just don't know enough about him yet. He's very quiet. You can't get anything out of him, which is kind of fun."

The majority of Duval's commercial publicity is in the golf magazines when Titleist takes out a full page advertisement to tout another one of his victories.

He makes brief appearances on two commercials now. On a FootJoy spot, he gives a quizzical look to "Sign Boy" and doesn't say a word. On a PGA Tour ad, his drive knocks over the tractor picking up balls on the range.

"Not again," Duval says.

Two commercials, two words. Not enough to give any measurable insight to a player who inside the ropes is drawing more attention than Woods.

Duval shed some insight on his personality and his game when asked about being a "dullard."

"If that's a perception, that's fine," he said. ``That's how I try to play. I try not to make mistakes. I try to make it a very stress-free round every time I tee it up. I try to keep the stress level as minimal as I can."

That goes for his life, too.

He spent Monday in deck shoes, and as overcast skies began to dim on Tuesday, he still had not played a hole at Augusta National this week. Duval played 36 holes last month, a 5-under 67 one day and 5-over through five holes the next day before he quit keeping score.

Still, it was enough for him to know the course. More importantly, he knows his game.

"Please don't get me wrong," he said. ``I'm not comparing myself to Nicklaus or Watson or Hogan. But all those players in the past believed that the way they were playing was the way to play. And I believe that I play that the way I play is the way to play. That's not so much saying everyone else is wrong.