FINISHING TOUCH

By THOMAS BONK

Jan. 20, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LA QUINTA —

Since the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic begins today, it’s a great time to test your local knowledge of this desert golf institution.

* How old is the tournament? a) 20 years, b) 40 years, c) 95 years.

(Answer is b) . . . c) is how old Bob Hope is).

* How old is David Duval? a) 27, b) 30, c) 39.

(Answer is a) . . . c) is the age of defending champion Fred Couples).

* Who is the hottest player on the PGA Tour? a) Mark O’Meara, b) Duval, c) anybody who shoots higher than 66 at Indian Wells.

(Answer is b) . . . c) is too painful an answer for anybody who does it).

* Why does Duval wear those huge, wraparound shades? a) his eyes are sensitive to light, b) he is auditioning for “A Bug’s Life II,” c) he is a slave to fashion.

(Answer is a) . . . but b) might be true too.)

So there you go. It’s only the third week of the PGA Tour season, but it’s already pretty clear that Duval has most of the answers. In the last 15 months, Duval has won eight times. He won the first event of the year, the Mercedes Championships, by nine shots when he went 26 under par and made $468,000. Then he took a week off (and let Jeff Sluman win in Honolulu) to go snowboarding in Sun Valley, Idaho. Chances are his wallet is so fat, he used it as the board.

When the 90-hole Hope winds its way through the Palmer Course at PGA West, Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells and Tamarisk on the annual five-day birdie-fest, it’s entirely possible that Duval will be standing there Sunday afternoon collecting another big check.

For Duval, winning has been habit-forming. He is as dominant as any player since Tom Watson from 1978 to ’80. With eight victories in his last 27 tournaments, Duval has been absolutely Watsonian.

It wasn’t always that way. In his first two years on the PGA Tour, Duval held seven 54-hole leads and didn’t win once. That has all changed now, and the evidence is in the world rankings, where Duval has moved up to No. 3 behind Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara.

When he thinks about it, Duval believes there may be more good results in store for him.

“They say players enter their prime in their mid-30s,” he said. “I hope I keep struggling like this until then and then get good.”

Yeah, that’s pretty funny. Duval got good fast, that’s the general impression his peers have. “David right now is our dominant guy,” Fred Funk said. Couples said he is hardly surprised.

“For a long time I’ve been saying he’s going to be our next great player,” Couples said. “I think he’s got the game to win and win and win and win and keep winning. He may not win six majors, but I think he’s going to win some and win a lot of tournaments.

“People ask me if he’s got the total package. Well, he drives the ball great, he hits his irons great and he’s a great putter. What’s he missing? Nothing? It’s really fun to watch.”

He may not act like it, though. Duval is well liked by his peers, but not that well known. He is regarded as something of an introvert who let it be known he once read Ayn Rand and was quickly branded as an intellectual. Couples said he doesn’t know Duval that well, but thinks he’s funny enough and nice to be around.

“He just doesn’t say a whole lot,” Couples said.

It certainly hasn’t held him back. Last year, Duval improved in every statistical category, including prize money. He won nearly $2.6 million and led the PGA Tour money list, which is always a great list to lead.

As in most sports, comparisons are inevitable. Duval is not as flashy as Woods, not as much of a personality, not as much of a public figure, but the general feeling is that he’s every bit as good a player--at least right now.

Couples said there’s no reason to compare Duval to Woods.

“They’re both dominating, but instead of comparing him to Tiger, I think you need to compare him to Watson,” he said. “Duval can dominate the tour for years, like Watson did. I can see him doing that.

“Tiger is incredible, but David--and I don’t think Tiger would argue--is probably now a better player. It doesn’t really matter. Tiger is capable of dominating the game too.”

Maybe so, but it’s Duval’s turn to dominate. The Florida native, a former Georgia Tech All-American, began playing the PGA Tour full time in 1995 and wound up No. 11 on the money list. But he didn’t win, even though he was in position a number of times. As it turned out, Duval shed his reputation as a poor closer as well as a few pounds and turned himself around at the end of 1997. That’s when he won his last three events and stopped having to answer questions about what he was doing wrong.

Duval said there’s nothing like expectations and misconceptions to mess things up.

“If you don’t win, you’re a bum,” he said. “Well, we’re supposed to be role models. What about a kid who might not have as much talent as other people, but he plays his tail off and finishes third? That’s not failing.

“You work hard, you give it your best, it doesn’t matter where you finished, you’ve won. Nobody wants to hear that or write about it, but that’s what we should be talking about. Not everybody is a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson.”

Good point . . . or a David Duval either.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

On a Big Roll

David Duval has won eight tournaments in the last 15 months.

Most Victories Since October 1997

David Duval: 8

8 players tied with 2 each.

Money Won Since October 1997

1. David Duval; $4,328,031

2. Jim Furyk: $2,617,136

3. Vjay Singh: $2,484,998

4. Mark O’Meara; $2,148,149