Duval’s Aiming High Again

Probably the most recognizable snowboarder in Sun Valley, Idaho, last week was David Duval, who was either on his board practicing his technique or inside watching the Olympics and letting his chin whiskers grow. It’s amazing, Duval said, to study the snowboarders, for one huge reason: “Those dudes are getting way high!”

Well, yes, they are, which brings us back down to earth, specifically the golf course at Riviera Country Club, where Duval is playing for the first time since he withdrew from the Phoenix Open three weeks ago. As for snowboarding, Duval says his elevation is sort of limited.

“I only get a couple of feet off the ground,” he said. For the Nissan Open, Duval plans to keep both feet on the ground and return to those thrilling days of 1998 and 1999 when he was healthy, happy and winning everything in sight. You can’t help but be happy when you win all the time, like Duval did.

Even though he’s won twice in the last two years, including his first major title at the British Open and was second at the Masters last year, Duval is steadfast in his assertion he could have done a lot better.

“My one goal is to play like I did a few years ago,” he said.

Duval has worked through a bad back and a bad wrist and said that as odd as it sounds, it took a long time to get out of the bad habits he picked up to compensate for his injuries. A 13-time winner with more than $15 million in career earnings, Duval says he played too many tournaments in too many places at the end of the year and the beginning of this year, so he pulled out of Phoenix to keep himself together.

“For me, my schedule was just too much,” he said. Duval has not played since the Hope, where he was 18 under but only tied for 48th. He was 12th at the Mercedes Championships. Even though Duval has played only two events, he has won $102,320 and is 67th on the money list.

And for this week, Duval has one more specific goal: “Hopefully, win a golf tournament.”

Darren Time

When he’s playing a tournament and watching the highlights in his hotel room, Darren Clarke hears the phone ring and knows who is usually calling. It’s Butch Harmon, Clarke’s coach, and he has a standard message: “Boy, you were swinging bad today,” Clarke said Harmon tells him.

Hopefully those bad-swinging days aren’t going to happen this week at Riviera, where Clarke plays his first event of the year on either tour.

To make sure he’s swinging well, Clarke spent the weekend working on his swing with Harmon at his club in Las Vegas, specifically controlling the flight of the ball.

Clarke has packed his bag full of new Taylor Made clubs, a new Scotty Cameron putter and a new, brighter outlook.

“I just want to play solid,” Clarke said. “Try to get my swing in the right path again.”

Clarke won three European Tour titles in 2001 and he was also third at the British Open at Royal Lytham. He played just seven PGA Tour events and may add only two more to his schedule this year. And Clarke wants to get off to a good start at Riviera, for obvious reasons.

“It’s a huge run, right up to the Masters,” said Clarke, who won the 2000 Match Play Championship at La Costa, the $5-million event that’s back at La Costa next week.

“It would be nice to get off to a good start,” said Clarke, who listed his new equipment.

“New driver, new irons, new putter, same old cigar,” he said.

Word Picture

This week’s award for colorful language goes to the Sydney Morning Herald about the weather at the ANC Championship: “After two days of inaction because of the big wet, players came out like rabbits from a burrow when the ferret has been let loose.”

We can only imagine the furry scene.

Blow Out the Candles

News item: Last week was the first anniversary of Aaron Baddeley’s one and only professional victory, at the ANC Championship in Sydney, Australia. To try to get him on the right track, Baddeley had a heart-to-heart pep talk with sports psychologist Bob Rotella. The advice, according to Baddeley, was “get out of your own way.”

Reaction: Excellent idea, especially if your foot is between the ball and the hole.

Sadly, Baddeley tied for 53rd in Sydney. He plays in Tucson next week.

Phil Out the Schedule

After missing the cut at Pebble Beach and then the Buick Invitational, Phil Mickelson has missed more cuts in the last two weeks than Tiger Woods has in the last five years.

More Cut News

We already know one guy who’s sure to miss the cut this week at Riviera. Why, it’s last year’s winner, Robert Allenby. How do we know this? It’s trendy. The defending champions at the last four tournaments missed the cut: Mickelson at Torrey Pines, Joe Durant at the Hope, Mark Calcavecchia at Phoenix and Davis Love III at Pebble Beach.

Short Stuff

The question-and-answer of the week, media department, Buick Invitational division, was handled by Mark O’Meara.

Question: “How did you find the length?”

O’Meara: “Long.”

Triage Unit

Third-round co-leader Jerry Kelly didn’t feel so well about his game after he closed with a 73 at Torrey Pines and fell to a tie for eighth, so he did what everybody should do. He went to the movies. Actually, Kelly studied videos of himself when he won the Sony Open five weeks ago and knew immediately he wasn’t turning his back the same way on his takeaway.

Said Kelly: “That was the Band-Aid I needed.”

The fact is, Kelly might be hitting it off his knee and still be doing all right, considering how much money he’s made.

Kelly is No. 2 (trailing Chris DiMarco) on the money list with $984,400 in four weeks.

Birdies, Bogeys, Pars

Scott Hoch donated $20,000 of his $300,000 prize money from the Williams World Challenge to the Tiger Woods Foundation. Woods donated his entire $1-million first-place check.... Artist Scott Medlock, who created artwork featuring Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan, will embellish the painting with creations from this week’s Nissan Open and donate the piece Sunday to the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce.... Industry Hills Golf Club has completed a $1.5-million renovation of its driving range and practice facility.