My first love: David Duval

There is certainly no shortage of sports heroes in America today. No matter what your sport of choice is, there is always one person that stands above the rest. Lebron James, Peyton Manning, Parker Bohn III (now that’s a name drop), or Sidney Crosby, there is always someone for all the kids in the neighborhood to look up to.

On a side note: the other day I was watching “Liar, Liar” when I was working out (really gets me pumped up), and the little boy wants to play baseball with his father…and I stood there with a look on my face that said “I smell farts” when the boy said “I’ll be Nomo, you get to be Canseco”. Which seemed like a very odd thing to want to be. The boy wants to be the 1996 NL Rookie of the year? (which in hindsight was undeserved, look where Chipper Jones is now…) and he wants his father to write a tell-some book and then appear in lingerie on “The Surreal Life” that sounds really gay…I’m sorry but it does. That’s like me going outside and wanting to play a game with my buddies where I get to be “Short round” from Indiana Jones, and my buddy gets to be Al Sharpton.

As many of you may (but probably don’t) know, my sport of preference is Golf. So the obvious questions are often asked “You for Tiger or Phil?” to which I answer Phil, I often get “Who do you think will win this week?” to which I usually reply, Tiger…but my favorite question that I get asked is the easiest question of all.

“So Linde…who’s you’re favorite golfer?” This question takes no time at all to contemplate…for the answer is clear.

David Duval.

Sometimes this answer is met by a quizzical face of “who the hell is that?” but mostly I’m asked “Where the hell has he been?” it is because of these questions that I love David Duval. Let me count the ways.

YEAH…THAT GUY.
If you turned on golf at anytime between 1998-2001 you heard his name. He finished in the top 15 in an unheard of 12 of the 15 majors he played during that span of time. Before the force that is Tiger, that was quite an impressive feat. He has one of the most beautiful swings I had ever seen. He looked like a guy that may own a cool boat. He certainly looked like a guy that preferred nacho cheese to salsa…for these things I was enamored with Mr. Duval as a youth.

THE DOWNFALL.
The best part about David Duval is that nobody knows who he is anymore. He has literally seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the earth. How do you go from #1 in the world to completely off the radar (other than the 1985 Kansas City Royals)? He has made one cut in 13 events this year…a staggering number. Not only that but he has gained an inordinate amount of weight, grown a goatee, and married a woman that already had three kids. He’s kind of like your 7th grade teacher that ended up marrying a lunch lady, a abysmal choice, but it was really the only choice he had. Much like Hitler, Stalin, and George W. Bush, we look at people with the world in their hands and secretly wish that they fall hard. Watching Duval golf anymore is like watching Bill Gates work as a receptionist at a Free Clinic after the fall of Microsoft.

THE MONEY
On par (no pun intended) with the Bill Gates Metaphor, Duval is a guy who received one of the biggest contracts from Nike since the Michael Jordan era. A 10 year deal worth reportedly over $13 mil. At the time, for a white golfer, that was staggering. He was making millions on the course as well, he had it all. Endorsements with Nike and Oakley (for those robo-cop M-frames he wears), a pairing with Tiger Woods in the Ryder cup (a purported dream duo), and a Major win (2001 British Open). And then what? Nothing.

THE PRESENT
Forget that Duval had his own SIGNATURE BALL, his own SIGNATURE SUNGLASSES, and most likely a condom marketing deal in the works, he was supposed to be one of the GREATEST of all time. Can you imagine if Michael Jordan, after 6 titles began shooting free throws like Shaq? If Alex Rodriguez couldn’t hit a ball off a tee? Or if Ray Lewis killed a man? Superior athletes do not receive huge endorsement deals and perform on an uncanny level for years and then disappear. We have many draft flops and trade blowups, but we never see somebody pull a “Duval”. Except for the man himself.

THE 59
The last point is perhaps the most crucial. The 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Duval is a non-factor. 9 shots back to start the day. All of a sudden he shoots a PGA Tour record 59 (13 under) final round to win the tournament by 1, solidifying double fist pumps and Tommy Hilfiger button up polo’s un-cool for the rest of time. David Duval may NEVER have this record touched. Nicklaus, Tiger, Watson, NOBODY has shot 59 in a final round ever….except for Duval. He is as famous as Hank Aaron, yet as infamous as Bill Buckner…all of this seems oddly surreal.


So there it is. I’m not going to be ashamed of it any longer. He was everything, he is now nothing. So far this year, I have made more money than Duval, that is staggering. But oddly not, considering we’ve played golf with the same amount of talent as well.

An odd side note: I had to look up Hideo Nomo to verify if he won the 1995 or the 1996 Rookie of the Year honors. When I did this, I found that he had his own signature shoe the “Air Max Nomo” in ’97, Nike tends to be extremely hit or miss when it comes to the money they put into future stars.