David Duval

Lore & Background

Duval was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of golf instructor and club professional Bob Duval. He attended Georgia Tech, where he was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and the 1993 National Player of the Year. After two years on the Nike Tour, where he won twice, he earned his PGA Tour card in 1995. Between 1997 and 2000, he finished all four seasons top-5 on the PGA Tour's money list, including being the leading money winner and scoring leader in 1998. He also won the 1997 Tour Championship and the 1999 Players Championship. Following his victory at the 2001 Open Championship, he never won again on the PGA Tour and his performance declined dramatically due to injuries and various medical conditions. He lost his tour card in 2011. He began competing on the Champions Tour in 2022.

In Their Own Story

The air at Southport in July 1999 hung thick and salt-heavy, the kind of English summer that makes the grass feel like velvet underfoot. Duval stepped up to the first tee, red cap low, bandana tied tight beneath his jaw. His caddie set the driver in his hands with a quiet nod—no words needed. The crowd hushed. He turned, the flat swing loading up like a slingshot, and the ball left the face with a sound more like a crack than a thwack. It rose, hung, and vanished into the grey-green distance, landing well past the 200-yard marker on a hole where most pros were still searching for the fairway. He didn't celebrate. He just turned, grabbed the next club from his bag, and walked. The roar behind him was the sound of a nation taking notice. That was the Big Dog: no theatrics, just the next shot, the next yard, the next Sunday.

Reader's Guide

Duval's peak career window was the late 1990s through 2001. After 2001 his career declined dramatically; by 2011 he lost his tour card. His active PGA Tour competition effectively ended after 2011, though he made occasional appearances via sponsor exemptions. He began competing on the Champions Tour in 2022.

Did You Know?

• Duval shot a 59 in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, becoming the third golfer in PGA Tour history to break 60 in competition and the first to do so in a final round.
• Duval and his father Bob Duval both won tournaments on the same day in 1999: David won the Players Championship and Bob won a Champions Tour event.
• Duval's brother Brent died of sepsis at age 12 in 1981 after a bone marrow transplant from David was unsuccessful.