Streaking Duval Not Yet Off the Mountain

He took last week off to hit the slopes, but that doesn’t mean David Duval forgot how to hit a golf ball. In fact, it came back as easily as falling off a snowboard . . . which Duval once did, sliding about 400 yards downhill on his backside.

So just what was he doing while on the way down?

Crying? Figuring out whom he would ask to sign his cast? Wondering if Zambonis started this way?

Well, no, actually.

“I was laughing,” Duval said. “And kind of looking around.”

If you showed up Thursday for the first round of the Nissan Open and took a look around Riviera Country Club, you saw Duval riding over the grassy layout as if it were one, big, powdery snow place.

Obviously, he enjoyed the ride with a seamlessly efficient five-birdie, no-bogey 66 and a share of the first-round lead.

Not only was it Duval’s ninth round below 70 this year, it puts him exactly 59--now that’s an interesting number--under par in his fifth tournament.

If this game gets any easier for Duval, he’s probably going to start hitting his tee shots with ski poles.

With two victories in four tournaments and more than $1 million in prize money, how long can this go on?

“I’m planning on a long time, myself,” Duval said. “I don’t think what I’m doing is beyond my capabilities. Therefore, I don’t view it as a freak occurrence. I view it as how I am capable of playing.”

In that case, it’s more serious than we thought, the other pros must be saying.

Bob Estes matched Duval with a 66 of his own while breaking in three new clubs. Estes, who has started well this year, is five years removed from his only PGA Tour victory, but he thinks his new clubs and tinkering with his swing will pay off.

“I’m one club away from feeling dangerous,” Estes joked.

There is a five-way tie for third at four-under 67 with Loren Roberts, Nick Price, Kirk Triplett, Kevin Sutherland and Alan Bratton, who became the last player in the field when he qualified Tuesday.

But even more are tied at three-under 68, 15 players in all, a virtual golf highlight reel including Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Mark Calcavecchia and Paul Stankowski.

And Tiger Woods opened with a 69 to finish two under, along with 16 others.

It was a gray and cool day at Riviera, but the scores were colorful. Seventy-six players in the field of 144 wound up at par or better. The greens were firm, but putting on them wasn’t much trouble.

Still, not everyone was as successful as Roberts, who remains one of the top putters on tour. He says Thursday’s was one of his best ball-striking rounds. It was his 14th consecutive par-or-better round to start the year.

Roberts made successive birdie putts of 25 and 15 feet on the back side.

“I’m 43 and I can still putt,” Roberts said. “And I’ve got good eyesight.”

There’s nothing wrong with Duval’s vision, either. He can see himself doing more of the things he has been doing, with more occasional breaks for playing in the snow.

“That certainly is my intention,” he said. “I do expect that. I usually have a pretty good feel of how things are going to go. It fell back into place.”

As for worrying about losing his edge, whether the magic will be yanked from his game like a rabbit out of a top hat, well, Duval conceded he does think about it.

“There might be a little concern, yeah,” he said. “But one of the most important things you need to learn as a player: To take a step forward you have to take a step back at times. You have to get a break every now and then.”

He wears a wrist guard and a helmet on the slopes, Duval said, and really enjoys snowboarding.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “It’s silent. You don’t hear anything.”

Here’s something else that makes for good feelings: Duval has led or been tied for the lead at the end of five of the 17 rounds he has played this year.

Can he play any better?

“I hope so,” Duval said.

Estes hopes he can play even better than he did at last year’s Nissan Open, when he finished tied for sixth. He has been in the 60s eight times in 14 rounds. He did it this time after tucking a new lob wedge, a new four-wood and a new driver into his bag.

If Woods and Duval are playing well, Estes knows why and he wants to be like them.

“They know how to win,” he said. “I’ve got the insides to win golf tournaments too.”

Duval’s only potential bogey was at No. 14, where his second putt went about 10 feet past the hole. He saved par with a clutch putt.

Duval said the greens were firm, well covered and smooth. It was a good day to score. And, as usual, it was another good day for Duval.