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THE 148TH OPEN

July 18, 2019

David Duval

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

DAVID DUVAL: Started fine. I've been playing well. I am playing good golf, surprisingly. Made a mistake on the fifth hole, played it improperly for me. I lost a couple of balls there.

And then just a funny situation on the 7th hole where a couple of bad tee shots and then we thought -- the marshal had another ball. I asked if it was a 2, Titleist 2. And then I looked at it and saw 2 and then played almost the entirety of the hole, and it turns out with the wrong ball. So then I had to go back to the tee, basically start the hole over.

So very unique, awful situation.

Q. So was it a 13 on that hole?
DAVID DUVAL: Yes. The description was like that tee shot didn't count as a stroke because it was a wrong ball, so there was a two-stroke penalty. It was the wrong ball. Everything after that is null. Doesn't matter. The next shots don't count anyways. So then up on the front of the green discovered it was the wrong No. 2 Titleist.

So I'm at fault. I didn't take a close enough -- it happened to me once before where a marshal is standing right next to the ball, kind of glanced down. I usually use a yellow mark, it's hard to see. And I don't see red very well. And so standing looking down at it it's a 2. So just my mistake.

Q. When did you realise it?
DAVID DUVAL: Actually, it was another caddie that came by and said, Are you playing a red 2 or a black 2? I said, I'm playing an X. Those are the red ones, apparently. So he felt bad. But I was like, This is not your fault. It is not your problem. It's mine. I didn't check it close enough.

And then ironically, four or five shots later I'm back in the same spot. Back in the front of the green, just off the front.

Q. How do you continue after that? Obviously you're going to, but what is the day like after that?
DAVID DUVAL: It was fairly unsettling, obviously. I came in here obviously with fairly high hopes. I had some good practice. I played in Colorado last week, and although my scores weren't that good, I drove the ball like I used to drive the ball. And hit shots like normal. Everything was there.

With that being said, at the same time I almost didn't play because the tendonitis in my left arm made it almost impossible to play. And then as the day progressed, because of some of the shots I had to hit, my arm got worse and worse. So it was just a downward spiral.

Look, I wasn't hurt enough not to finish. You've known me long enough, unless I'm really hurt or sick, I post my score. That's just not something I've done as a professional. I've posted 85 twice, but never a 90. It was a long day, rough day.

Q. Will you play tomorrow?
DAVID DUVAL: I'm assuming so.

Q. How is your arm?
DAVID DUVAL: It hurts like crap. It's hard to hold a club. But assuming it gets a little bit better, I don't know what to think. Again, I have obligations and I don't know if it's more or less here, maybe it is more here because I have won here.

But you have an obligation as a professional athlete if you play, you post your score. So, well, am I happy about that? Is there some, I don't know, embarrassment to it? I don't know. But I teed off in The Open and I shot 90 today, so put it on the board.

Q. What drives you to keep striving and playing?
DAVID DUVAL: I believe in what I do. I believe in what I do. And I know the difference between the time frame-wise eight years ago and now. And again, it's not reflective of anything I've been doing. It's just one of those god-awful nightmare scenarios that happened today and I happened to be on the end of it.

Q. What was the crowd reaction?
DAVID DUVAL: There was certainly nothing but encouragement, yes, for sure. And you take a while, because I couldn't figure out -- we were in there now trying to figure out if the score was right.

Q. Was there just one penalty for playing the wrong ball?
DAVID DUVAL: Yes, you get one 2-shot penalty for playing the wrong ball, and then the strokes played with that ball afterwards don't count, at all. I think I have it translated properly. Because that wasn't my tee ball -- it might have been a different situation -- I don't know if it is a different situation -- actually, I think it's not.

It's just that you play the wrong ball, you have to go right to 5. Nothing else counts from that point on.

Q. You have to go and redo everything?
DAVID DUVAL: I had to go back to the tee and start over.

Q. Did they give you a ride, at least?
DAVID DUVAL: They gave me a ride.

Q. Was it during the rainy period?
DAVID DUVAL: No, it wasn't really raining at that point.

Q. How did you hit the next tee shot?
DAVID DUVAL: I found it. It was buried. It wasn't like embedded in turf, so I didn't get a relief from that. There wasn't one good break. But I hit some crappy shots. I put myself in that position. I managed to hit a lot of good shots coming in.

You know what, there's a lot bigger things than this. And honestly, I stood here starting this week knowing that I'm playing really well. And I figured if some good things happened I could run top-20. And obviously I'll be in last place.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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