The Open Championship has always been one of the most difficult tournaments in golf, and David Duval showed us a prime example on Thursday of the way it can break a player’s spirits.
Duval, who won the Open back in 2001, had one of the most disastrous first rounds of a major tournament in recent memory. He got off to a great start and was 2-under through the first four holes, but it was all downhill from there. Duval made a quadruple-bogey on the 5th hole and a double on the 6th, and that wasn’t even close to the worst of it.
Duval hit three tee shots on the par-5 7th, thinking there was a chance that his first two were lost. He initially ended up with a 15 on the hole, but it was later changed to a 13. Duval apparently thought he had been playing his third provisional for a few shots before realizing it was actually his second. When the mess was sorted out, he ended up with a 13.
Duval, 47, lost his PGA Tour card in 2011. He was allowed entry into the 2019 Open because he won the major back in 2001, but he might wish he declined the invite after the way things unfolded on Thursday.
