Burning Question for Duval

So what’s David Duval’s motto this week?

“Strike while the fire is hot”?

“Wake up and smell the coffee”?

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”?

“Burn, baby, burn”?

All right, so Duval wants to win the U.S. Open in the worst way, but second-degree burns probably aren’t the best way to get ready.

Maybe it’s not going to matter that Duval burned his right thumb and index finger on a teapot last Friday and couldn’t play at all until his practice round here Tuesday morning.

Then again, that could have been the most costly cup of coffee Duval ever had and you can put all that talk about Duval winning on the back burner.

There were small bandages on Duval’s two injured fingers in the morning when he toured the famous No. 2 course, the one with the pine tree-lined fairways and the elevated greens and the grass around the putting surfaces so short you wonder if you remembered to put that cue stick in your bag.

Afterward, Duval said his fingers didn’t bother him. He didn’t sound very convincing.

“They seem to be fine,” he said. “I played this morning and I didn’t really have any problems. It’s probably valid to ask me tomorrow, although I might not want to answer anymore. Seems like all I’ve been talking about.”

Well, there’s a good reason. When the No. 1 player in the world toasts two of his fingers a week before the U.S. Open, it’s news. So when the 99th U.S. Open begins Thursday, all eyes are going to be on Duval’s fingers.

Duval has played 130 tournaments and won 11 of them, but he hasn’t won a major. It’s an omission in an otherwise spotless resume and one that must be filled in to validate his credentials as the top player in the world. Many believe Duval should do well at Pinehurst, where there are three par fours measuring more than 480 yards, which makes power a premium ticket, and where a fertile imagination comes in handy around the greens.

You have to believe that recipe has Duval written all over it.

It rained on and off during Tuesday’s practice rounds, which should make the fairways softer, but it might also cut down on the roll and turn the 7,175-yard course into something that actually plays a lot longer.

For someone who hits the ball as far as Duval does--his average drive is 287.2 yards--Pinehurst should be right up his alley. That’s what most were feeling about Duval, up to the time he played I’m a Little Teapot.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to prevent me from performing as I would like this week,” he said. “So it wasn’t exactly the greatest of timing, but it looks like it’s going to be OK.”

We’ll see about that. In the meantime, Duval explained how he burned his fingers. He moved into a new house Ponte Vedra, Fla., and it has a gas range. He grabbed the handle of the pot, which was over a flame, and there you have it: fried fingers.

Whatever. He may not know how he’s going to finish on the finger test today, but Duval does know what more rain will mean to Pinehurst.

“All that does to the long players is it gives them more advantage, not less, because we carry the ball farther,” he said. “And the people who hit it shorter tend to rely on more roll, and they’re not going to get the run-out like they would normally, whereas we’re still going to carry it 280 yards.”

The list of big hitters naturally includes Tiger Woods, who arrives at the U.S. Open as the hottest player playing. He won an event in Germany three weeks ago, won at the Memorial two weeks ago and then took last week off, probably to count his money--$1.899 million. Duval leads the money list with $2.861 million and he’s ready for the rivalry with Woods that everybody seems to be talking about.

“If I come out on top, I might gloat a little more,” Duval joked.

That could happen, according to Mark O’Meara, who put both Duval and Woods on his short list of potential U.S. Open champions.

“I’m going to go with guys that have been playing well of late: Tiger, Duval, Colin Montgomerie,” O’Meara said. “Players who have been winning frequently, because winning breeds winning and your confidence steps up a beat.”

With four victories in 12 tournaments, that’s all Duval needs, more confidence. Of course, he could also use a potholder.

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Duval Dossier

David Duval got off to a hot start in 1999, winning his first two tournaments. A look at what he’s done this year

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Date Tournament Place Jan. 10 Mercedes Championships First Jan. 24 Bob Hope Classic First Jan. 31 Phoenix Open Tied for 18th Feb. 7 Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tied for 15th Feb. 21 Nissan Open Tied for 5th Feb. 28 Match Play Tied for 17th March 28 The Players Championship First April 4 BellSouth Classic First April 11 The Masters Tied for 6th May 2 Houston Open Tied for 64th May 9 COMPAQ Classic of New Orleans Cut June 6 Memorial Tournament Tied for 3rd

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