Duval going for big 3 in Las Vegas

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 9:45 a.m.

Ever since he joined the PGA Tour in 1995, David Duval has heard how he was supposed to be one of a handful of players charged with taking professional golf into the 21st century.

Even before he completed his sensational rookie season in which he posted three second-place finishes and earned nearly $900,000, Duval invariably was mentioned along with Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Justin Leonard as being among the pre-Tiger Woods wave of golfers who were leading a changing of the guard on the PGA Tour.

And that was before the 25-year-old posted unprecedented back-to-back playoff victories two weeks ago in the Michelob Championship and Sunday in the Disney Classic.

"It's flattering is what it is," Duval said, politely dismissing the rhetoric. "But to be perfectly honest with you, I've never really thought of it like that.

"It's the truth -- and you're a fool if you don't believe it -- that the PGA Tour can survive without me, it can survive without Justin Leonard, it can survive without Phil Mickelson and it can survive without Ernie Els. If you get to thinking you're a vital part of it, you're only fooling yourself."

That's not to say, however, that Duval doesn't believe he deserves to be mentioned among the PGA Tour's elite. The Georgia Tech graduate proved that his rookie year, he backed it up it with an equally successful sophomore campaign and he has reinforced it with his play this season.

Duval, who will be out for his third consecutive win when he tees it up Wednesday in the first round of the $1.8 million Las Vegas Invitational, isn't surprised that he finally broke through and won two PGA Tour events -- although he may be shocked they came in successive weeks.

"I always felt like I could win all the tournaments out here," Duval said after pocketing $270,000 Sunday for his sudden-death win over Dan Forsman. "I always said the breaks (were) going to even out."

Duval had seven runner-up finishes in his first three years on tour, including three in his rookie season. Three times that year, Duval entered the final round of a tournament with a chance to win and shot either 68 or 69 -- only to be outplayed by another golfer.

"It boils down to finding a comfort level," Duval said. "I realize now that you don't need to play excellent golf to win a tournament. You need to play well and you need to be smart."

Tiger Woods, who also will be in town this week to defend his 1996 LVI title, finished in 26th place at Disney at 10 under par but comes to Las Vegas loaded with confidence and a word of caution for his peers.

"I hit the ball more solidly than in months," said Woods, who leads the PGA Tour in earnings with $1,960,570. "But golf-wise, (this week) was frustrating. But I'm definitely building momentum. Who knows, I might be able to pull out two victories in a row."

Following the 15th annual LVI, the top 30 money winners qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship at Champions Golf Club in Houston.