Duval Struck With Vertigo

David Duval’s worst round in seven years wasn’t an accident. He was diagnosed Saturday as having vertigo, which he said could last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

“It’s just one thing after another,” Duval said.

Duval, the only player other than Tiger Woods to be No. 1 in the world over the last five years, said the room was spinning and his equilibrium was out of kilter when he woke up Friday before his second round in the Ford Championship at Doral.

He finished with four bogeys in a row for an 80, his worst score since he had an 83 at Doral in 1996 while battling a shoulder injury.

“I felt terrible,” he said. “I was wobbly, lightheaded. It was a weird feeling.”

Duval’s diagnosis was positional vertigo, an inner-ear problem that results in brief, violent bursts of dizziness with any turn of the head. It is often accompanied by queasiness that can last hours.

Duval went to the doctor Saturday morning, and is scheduled for a hearing test before he returns home to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

His immediate golf future is uncertain, although he does not expect to miss the Players Championship at the end of the month or the Masters.

“I just have to let it run its course,” Duval said.

Jim Furyk was diagnosed with positional vertigo last year and missed three tournaments. He said he didn’t feel right for four months after the diagnosis.