Duval Is Doing His Best to Blow Away Competition at Kapalua

The Mercedes Championships braced for a big storm that didn’t arrive Friday. In its place was something much more daunting--David Duval playing as though last year never ended.

On another dry, relatively calm day above the shores of Maui, Duval tied the Plantation course record with a 10-under-par 63 that gave him a five-stroke lead through two rounds of the season-opening, winners-only event.

“I can’t say a key was anything,” said Duval, who won four times last year and set a record with nearly $2.6 million in earnings. “You don’t just putt well and shoot 10 under. You have to do everything well.”

And he did--a drive that caught the slope on No. 6 and stopped rolling 380 yards from the tee, setting up an easy birdie on the 398-yard hole; a five-iron within two feet of the pin on the 203-yard eighth hole; and solid putting throughout the round.

It all added up to 16-under 130, an unusually low 36-hole score in unusually benign conditions.

“We haven’t had a taste of how this golf course plays,” Duval said.

PGA champion Vijay Singh lost ground despite an eight-under 65. He was at 11-under 135 along with Billy Mayfair and Fred Funk, who were in a four-way tie for the lead after the first round.

Fred Couples, who has made only one birdie on a par five all week, and Davis Love III were among those at 137. Mark O’Meara and Tiger Woods were another stroke back.

The 10-under score matched Duval’s best round on tour--he shot a 62 in the third round at Pebble Beach in 1997, when he wound up one stroke behind O’Meara; and he shot a 62 in the Tucson Classic last year in the second round on his way to the first of four victories.

“It’s like I continued from last year,” Duval said. “I didn’t really take a break. I put time in the gym and I put time in the golf.”

The result is another great start by the player regarded by many of his peers as the best in the world. A victory in the Mercedes would be his eighth in the last 27 tournaments, a performance that ranks up there with Tom Watson, Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus at the peak of their games.

Unless his game breaks down, the only thing that could slow Duval over the weekend is the typical trade winds from the northeast, which is in the forecast.

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In Front

Leaders after two rounds at Kapalua, Hawaii:

$2.6-MILLION MERCEDES

CHAMPIONSHIPS--Par 73

David Duval 67-63--130 -16

Vijay Singh 70-65--135 -11

Billy Mayfair 66-69--135 -11

Fred Funk 66-69--135 -11

Joe Durant 66-70--136 -10

Steve Pate 66-70--136 -10

Complete results, D10