With 11 Birdies, an Eagle and Six Pars, David Duval, the Hottest Golfer in the World, Gets Even Hotter by Storming Back to Win the Bob Hope Classic With a Record-Tying. . .59!

It is golf’s magic number--59. It’s the ultimate lowdown, the most of the least, the sum total of greatness when the only thing suitable for writing it down on your scorecard is a gold pen.

For David Duval, it was his final-round score Sunday, the one that won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, an almost numbingly routine-looking 59 that moved him past the 12 players who began the day in front of him, allowed him to collect a $540,000 winner’s check and let him walk straight into golf history.

The taciturn 27-year-old with the wraparound sunglasses left everybody else in the shadows once again. Duval, normally as emotional as granola, double-pumped his fist the moment his six-foot eagle putt disappeared into the hole at No. 18, the 59th and last of his shots, worth a two-shot lead over Steve Pate.

Four groups ahead of the lead group that included Pate, Duval waited to see if he would be caught. His lead over Pate was only one shot when Duval stood off to the side of the grandstand at No. 18 and chewed on an apple. Then he heard the groans when Pate’s last chance, an 18-foot birdie putt, spun out of the hole to end it.

Of course, that’s when Duval let it all hang out then.

He smiled.

For Duval, that’s an eruption of emotion, but then again, shooting a 59 on the last day to win a tournament isn’t your typical day, is it?

“It’s like pitching a perfect game,” Duval said.

And so it was. Pate deserved better since he didn’t exactly roll over in a bunker and cover himself with sand. He closed with a 66 to finish at 25-under par and only lost because somebody dropped a 59 on him. This is golf’s equivalent to being struck by lightning.

“I played better than everybody but one guy,” Pate said. “I guess you could say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Meanwhile, Duval kept up his uncanny knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time.

Add it up and it’s sort of monotonous.

* Two victories in his only two starts this year.

* More than $1 million in his two weeks this year ($1,008,000).

* Nine victories in his last 28 tournaments.

* Nearly $4.9 million in prize money in the last 15 months.

So how good is this guy playing?

“I’m playing quite well,” Duval said.

Yes, and desert sand is a little dry. Duval’s 59 was only the third in PGA Tour history (Al Geiberger in 1977 and Chip Beck in 1991 also accomplished the feat). He needed it all to win this time.

Duval, who began the day tied for 13th, was seven shots behind Fred Funk. Duval was 13 under par for the first 72 holes and 13 under par the last 18 holes. He birdied No. 1 at the Palmer Course on Sunday, the same hole he double-bogeyed Saturday. He shot a 28 on the back nine--which Duval also did last year at Tucson.

He had 11 birdies and an eagle to go with six pars . . . maybe he wasn’t trying on those holes. He even had playing partner Jeff Maggert convinced he was playing a different course.

“I didn’t know we were playing par twos today,” Maggert said.

As it turned out, everyone else was playing a different game than Duval, at least for one round.

Pate won $324,000 for second and John Huston $204,000 for third after his closing 66 brought him in at 24-under 336. Funk and Bob Estes tied for fourth and Skip Kendall was sixth.

Duval produced rounds of 70-71-64-70-59 for a 26-under total of 334. It’s the 59 that sort of stands out.

“What more can you say?” Pate asked. “If he doesn’t jump to No. 1 in the world rankings, there’s something seriously wrong.”

In the meantime, there’s something seriously right with Duval. He isn’t particularly long and he isn’t particularly big, but he is particularly successful. But Duval doesn’t like to be drawn into discussions about his streak.

“I don’t consider it a streak,” Duval said. “Sure, I may be nine of 29 or whatever, but I’m nine for probably 120 total or something in my career. So the percentage isn’t quite as baffling if you look at it that way. I prefer to look at it that way.”

As for being the best player in the world, well, Duval played along to make a point.

“All right, let’s say I’m the best player in the world. Great. Congratulations to me. That doesn’t help me get better. It doesn’t help me shoot a better score on Sunday. It doesn’t do anything for me. Improving does.”

No one in professional golf has ever done any better than what Duval did Sunday.

He birdied the first three holes, a nice start that included three-footers on the second and third. He tapped in for par at No. 4, then birdied the par-three 5th from five feet. He parred the next three holes, but birdied No. 9 after an eight-iron left him eight feet away.

Duval began the back with three more birdie putts, the first two from four feet and the third, at the par-three 12th, from two feet. He tapped in for par at No. 13, then birdied three more in a row. He hit a sand wedge to 10 feet on the par-five 14th, hit an eight-iron to a foot and a half of the hole at the par-three 15th and made a putt from six feet at No. 16.

He two-putted from 20 feet at the par-five 17th and then started thinking about a possible eagle at the 543-yard par-five 18th--with a 59 staring him in the face.

After his drive, Duval had 177 yards to the front of the green and 218 yards to the hole. So full of emotion, he chose a five-iron and let it go.

“Obviously, I’m a little juiced at the time,” he said. “My main thought was to knock it on and have a decent putt. I wasn’t positive I could get it all the way back to the hole. But it looked good all the way. I was just screaming for it to get there, and it did.”

The ball stopped rolling six feet to the left of the hole. Duval read the putt, stood over the ball and rolled it in. He had his magic number.

Duval had to admit he was thinking 59 all the way, but he wasn’t going to get all excited or anything. That just isn’t his style.

“I took a couple of deep breaths and hit it and you just see what happens.”

What happens is another entry into the record books.

Afterward, Duval had a hard time expressing his feelings about his 59.

“It is kind of a terrible thing because I am sitting here and I don’t know what to tell you. I just don’t. It’s something that you just don’t think about.

“Those kind of rounds you just couldn’t go out and do. Things have to go your way.”

For 18 holes and 59 shots on a Sunday in the desert, they surely went Duval’s way.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Circles--Birdies; Square--Eagle

Duval Facts

* Two victories in two starts this year.

* Over $1 million ($1,008,000) this year.

* Nine victories since October 1997 (Next best is two victories, equaled by eight players).

* Nearly $4.9 million since October 1997.

Club 59

1977, AL GEIBERGER

Second round, Memphis Classic, Colonial Country Club, Memphis, 13 under par

1991, CHIP BECK

Third round, Las Vegas Invitational, Sunrise Golf Club, Las Vegas, 13 under par

1998, NOTAH BEGAY

Second round, Nike Dominian Open, The Dominian Club, Richmond, Va., 13 under par.

1999, DAVID DUVAL

Fifth round, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Palmer Course PGA West, La Quinta, 13 under par

NOTE: Duval’s 59 is the first to be shot in the final round.

Hole: 1

Yards: 426

Par: 4

Duval: 3

Hole: 2

Yards: 514

Par: 5

Duval: 4

Hole: 3

Yards: 180

Par: 3

Duval: 2

Hole: 4

Yards: 396

Par: 4

Duval: 4

Hole: 5

Yards: 233

Par: 3

Duval: 2

Hole: 6

Yards: 562

Par: 5

Duval: 5

Hole: 7

Yards: 439

Par: 4

Duval: 4

Hole: 8

Yards: 358

Par: 4

Duval: 4

Hole: 9

Yards: 461

Par: 4

Duval: 3

Hole: Out

Yards: 3,569

Par: 36

Duval: 31

Hole: 10

Yards: 453

Par: 4

Duval: 3

Hole: 11

Yards: 512

Par: 5

Duval: 4

Hole: 12

Yards: 207

Par: 3

Duval: 2

Hole: 13

Yards: 447

Par: 4

Duval: 4

Hole: 14

Yards: 569

Par: 5

Duval: 4

Hole: 15

Yards: 156

Par: 3

Duval: 2

Hole: 16

Yards: 364

Par: 4

Duval: 3

Hole: 17

Yards: 130

Par: 3

Duval: 3

Hole: 18Yards: 543Par: 5

Duval:

Hole: In

Yards: 3,381

Par: 36

Duval: 28

Circles, Birdies; Square--Eagle

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Road to 59, Stroke by Stroke

NO. 1, 426 YARDS, PAR 4: Driver. Pitching wedge. 5-foot birdie putt.

NO. 2, 514 YARDS, PAR 5: Driver. 4-iron. Chip with sand wedge. 3-foot birdie putt.

NO. 3, 180 YARDS, PAR 3: 6-iron. 3-foot birdie putt.

NO. 4, 396 YARDS, PAR 4: 2-iron. 9-iron. 2-putt from 15 feet. Tap in for par.

NO. 5, 233 YARDS, PAR 3: 5-iron. 5-foot birdie putt.

NO. 6, 562 YARDS, PAR 5: Driver. 5-iron. Sand wedge. 2-putt from 30 feet. 1 1/2-foot putt for par.

NO. 7, 439 YARDS, PAR 4: 2-iron. 7-iron. 2-putt from 40 feet. 2-foot putt for par.

NO. 8, 358 YARDS, PAR 4: 3-wood. Sand wedge. Chip with 3-iron. 6-foot putt for par.

NO. 9, 451 YARDS, PAR 4: 3-wood. 8-iron. 8-foot birdie putt.

NO. 10, 453 YARDS, PAR 4: 3-wood. Sand wedge. 4-foot birdie putt.

NO. 11, 512 YARDS, PAR 5: Driver. 4-iron. Pitching wedge. 4-foot birdie putt.

NO. 12, 207 YARDS, PAR 3: 6-iron. 2-foot birdie putt.

NO. 13, 447 YARDS, PAR 4: 3-wood. 7-iron. 2-putt from 12 feet. Tap in for par.

NO. 14, 569 YARDS, PAR 5: Driver into bunker. 5-iron. Sand wedge. 10-foot birdie putt.

NO. 15, 156 YARDS, PAR 3: 8-iron. 1 1/2-foot birdie putt.

NO. 16, 364 YARDS, PAR 4: 2-iron. Sand wedge. 6-inch birdie putt.

NO. 17, 130 YARDS, PAR 3: 9-iron. 2-putt from 20 feet. 5-foot putt for par.

NO. 18, 543 YARDS, PAR 5: Driver. 5-iron. 6-foot eagle putt.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Top Scores

(Complete scores, Page 10):

BOB HOPE CLASSIC--Par 72

David Duval--$540,000

70-71-64-70-59--334-26

Steve Pate--$324,000

66-70-64-69-66--335-25

John Huston--$204,000

63-73-71-63-66--336-24

Bob Estes--$132,000

68-71-65-67-68--339-21

Fred Funk--$132,000

65-68-66-69-71--339-21

Skip Kendall--$108,000

67-73-66-64-70--340-20

Jeff Maggert--$100,500

69-72-66-68-66--341-19

Paul Goydos--$87,000

67-72-69-70-64-18

Jeff Sluman--$87,000

68-68-70-68-68-18

Kevin Sutherland--$87,000

69-72-66-67-68-18

Next: Thursday-Sunday, Phoenix Open, Scottsdale, Ariz.