DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 7, 1997

David Duval

DAVID DUVAL: I don't know what to say. It was a good day. I hit the ball -- well, not very good on the range and not very good for the first few holes. I hit it in a lot of bunkers, but that's what you expect out here, I guess. And, after that, I just kind of got driving it a little better and playing from the fairways and it's a lot easier then.

DAVID DUVAL: It was pretty strong when we started and then when we got around to about No. 12, it seemed to kind of settle down for about 12 and 13 and then it picked back up pretty strong again. It's pretty hard right now. But the direction never seemed to change all day, which was nice.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah, it pretty much stayed the same.

DAVID DUVAL: No.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah, I guess so. I didn't play very well in Tucson; nor did I play very well in Los Angeles. And I definitely -- I've hit the ball a heck of a lot better than I did those two weeks. It seems like it's coming back a little bit to me.

DAVID DUVAL: Yes.

DAVID DUVAL: 113 yards.

DAVID DUVAL: Not after playing with him for two days. He sure does hit it long. I'll stop there. It's surprising, actually, how far he hits it. I was going to say for an old guy, but I better not do that (laughter.)

DAVID DUVAL: Well, you couldn't -- actually, either way, you couldn't go wrong. You couldn't draw a better pairing. They're two of the nicest guys out here. They're fun to be out with and play golf with. So I'm sure it will be a good day. It's nice to be out with people that are fun to play with.

DAVID DUVAL: 8 feet.

DAVID DUVAL: I think I hit two. I hit it off the 10th tee and off of 16, and that was it.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I think -- players like Tiger Woods is the exception, you know, he was born to play golf. He's one of the best players in the world and he just goes and gets after it. If you look back at the other -- a lot of the other past great players, they seem to -- it took them a while to get in the groove, I guess, is the best way to put it. And once they did, they really kept it going. I couldn't give specifics, but for a player like Tom Watson, one of the greatest players ever, he didn't win golf tournaments right when he started; nor did Fred Couples; Curtis Strange didn't, I believe. And, those are great players. So, like I said, if I felt like my game was going nowhere or was going a little backwards, then I'd be very concerned. But, as a player who is looking long-term, I feel that I've taken strides in the right direction to solidify myself as a good, strong player, and one who could become a great player if I keep working on the right things.

DAVID DUVAL: No, I don't think so. Everybody is used to playing everywhere. And, you look at who is at the top of the leader board each week, it tends to be the players that have been playing for years and years and years. It seems like every town you go to is an adopted hometown. So, I don't think there's more of an edge.

DAVID DUVAL: I'm not tired of either. Because if I wasn't asked about it, I'd feel like, well, then maybe people don't think very highly of me as a player. But, seeing as I'm asked a lot, that shows that a lot of people out here believe in my abilities. And, so, that's a good thing. That's a good feeling.

DAVID DUVAL: I don't know. I haven't really done that a whole lot. I feel with each tournament when I have finished second, with the exception of Atlanta last year, I did fairly well. I played fairly decently. And, last year at Atlanta, of the tournaments I had a chance to win, was probably the sole one since I've been on Tour. It was my fault. I probably -- I just gave it away. And, that's tough. And, the other instances, I feel like I've done pretty well. And, I was actually quite proud of how I played at Pebble this year and held in there. It was a day where I -- the day before I'd get to my ball, I'd figure out my yards and I'd pull the club; it was just right on. I got to Sunday's round and I was in between clubs on 15 holes. And, when you're trying to win a tournament, that makes it a lot more difficult. But I kept hanging in there. I kept getting the ball up-and-down from some spots where you shouldn't hit it and then I hit a less than great shot on 17 off the tee. But, low and behold, I made the putt and I'm back in it. I felt good about that. I kept going, because you never know when you're going to make a long putt, you never know when a 50-footer is going to fall in. And it happened and I had a chance with it. It was nice and I felt good about it that I stayed in there.

DAVID DUVAL: I hit a 5-iron on No. 5 out of one of the bunkers to about half a foot, six inches. I hit a sand wedge on 7 to about 20 feet. On 8, I hit a 4-iron for my second shot on to the fringe, left fringe and 2-putted. 10: I hit a 3-wood into the green-side bunker and knocked it out to about four feet. No. 16: I hit a sand wedge to about 8 feet behind the hole. On 18, I hit the wedge about 8 feet.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah, I hit it real close. Well, it just didn't go in, I guess is the best way -- I figured looking at the slope, if anything, it's going to maybe fall a little bit to the left. If there is any grain pulling it, that's the way I felt it should pull it. And, I hit it actually with real good speed just inside the hole and it kind of fell out to the right, which I didn't see at all. So, I hit it where I wanted to at the speed I wanted and it just didn't go in.

DAVID DUVAL: I feel like I'm, yeah, real close to being on. Just seems like I've struggled with a few holes out there each day and had to just walk through it. I've just been fortunate. I've had to step up to the plate a couple of times when I've had tough shots out of the fairway bunkers and take a swipe at it to see what would happen, because I didn't have a choice, and it's worked out so far. But, I'd like to get hitting it a little better than I am going into the weekend. But, I've just kind of hung in there. I think the conditions on the golf course mandate that you plug along and get it when you can and you just go with that.