Duval thinks U.S. Open finish a positive sign, not a fluke

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Prior to his runner-up showing at the U.S. Open, David Duval's last top-10 had come in 2002.

Had David Duval won last month's U.S. Open, it would have qualified as the best story in golf in a very long time.

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Instead, Duval's shared runner-up finish with Phil Mickelson and Ricky Barnes was probably just the fourth-best story of the day's news cycle behind: 1. Mickelson's near-miss to finally win a U.S. Open, this time for his ailing wife; 2) Lucas Glover's breakthrough victory; and 3) Tiger Woods' late bid to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open winner in 20 years.

That doesn't seem fair, because what Duval almost did was the stuff movies and fairy tales are made of. Here was a guy who had risen to the No. 1 ranking in the world in 1999, didn't seem to enjoy the view and slowly fell off the golf map, plunging to a No. 882 ranking as he entered the U.S. Open, just his second major since 2006.

But there Duval was, tied for the lead at Bethpage Black after he made birdies at the 15th and 16th holes to overcome a back-breaking triple bogey on his first hole that Monday morning. Duval bogeyed No. 17, however, and settled for his best showing in a major since his ah-ha moment of winning the 2001 British Open.

Duval insists he, like most, wasn't shocked by his performance.

"It may be arrogance, but it's where I feel like I belong," he said. "I stand before you certainly happy with how I played, but extremely disappointed in the outcome. I had no question in my mind I was going to win the golf tournament today."

It was virtually impossible for others to see this coming. Not only had Duval posted just one top-20 finish in his last 50 starts on the PGA TOUR, he had made the cut in only 33 of his last 113 events. That forced Duval to use the final exemption he had left for 2009: His ranking in the top 50 on the all-time money list.

But for the last few years, we have heard the same thing from Duval: He was playing far better than his scores would indicate. But isn't that was most struggling golfers say?

"I probably stand here with a lot more confidence than you maybe think I should if you look simply at results," Duval said at last year's British Open, where he finished tied for 39th. "But I'm the one holding the golf club, I'm the one hitting shots, so I know how I'm truly swinging the golf club and how I'm playing, and I feel good about it."

So now comes the big question as he makes his return to the PGA TOUR at this week's John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill.: Is his second-place showing at the U.S. Open a sign that Double-D will be soon adding to his career total of 13 career TOUR victories, or was this simply one last hurrah for the 37-year-old?

I'm going with the former. Not because of the way Duval struck the ball that week at Bethpage Black, but by how his demeanor seemed to strike a chord with the raucous New York fans.

Not only was Duval playing great again, he was enjoying it. You could see it in his smile. Duval could feel it in his soul.

"I probably had a lot more fun out there in the heat of it, especially over there on the theater of 15 through 17, than I've had on a golf course in a long time," Duval said. "I was in the middle of the golf tournament trying to make birdies and I was just having a blast."

There were times, even when Duval won 11 times in a stretch of 34 tournaments from 1997-1999, he seemed like a robot on the course. Certainly, the wraparound shades were more than a fashion statement for the intensely private Duval.

Even when he won that first major at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2001, Duval admitted he felt an "is that all there is?" moment. It wasn't until he married Susan Persichitte in 2004 that he found true happiness. Persichitte had three children, and the couple has added two since, providing Duval with a sense of comfort to once again turn his attention to playing world-class golf.

"I want my kids to know how well I can play this game," Duval said at Bethpage Black. "It's very difficult to sit here and say second place is a failure. It is very much a success. It's not quite the success I had hoped for, and in some way expected, but a success nonetheless."

It's been a long time since Duval was this excited to show up a tournament site. It's been even longer since his golf fans can start looking for his name at the top of the scores instead of starting at the bottom.

Watching Duval win the 2009 U.S. Open would have been an incredible tale. But his story is far from finished.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.