Saturday, January 9, 1999

David Duval: "I do know how to play this game and I think I play
it very well .... I hit it close and made the putts. You don't just putt
well to shoot 10-under-par, you have to hit it well also.

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Duval way ahead
in numbers game

He shoots a 63 at Kapalua's
Plantation Course for a five-stroke
lead in the Mercedes Championships

By Bill Kwon
Star-Bulletin

KAPALUA, Maui -- David Duval doesn't think of himself as the best golfer in the world or a media celebrity like Tiger Woods.

"I do know how to play this game and I think I play it very well," Duval said.

Talk about understatement.

Not that he has anything to prove, having won four PGA Tour events last year to finish No. 1 on the money list with a single-season record $2.59 million.

Duval made a statement that things won't be any different this year by shooting a course-record 10-under-par 63 to take a five-stroke lead going into today's third round of the Mercedes Championship.

That gave him a 36-hole score of 130 -- 16-under par -- at the Plantation Course, new site of the tour's season-opening event.

Tied for second at 135 were Vijay Singh, who had yesterday's next best round at 65, and Billy Mayfair and Fred Funk, who were among four players sharing the lead on the first day.

Duval says that he's a guy who plays golf by the numbers. And, boy, did he put them up yesterday with 10 birdies, six on the back nine.

"You can't say the key was anything. I hit it close and made the putts. You don't just putt well to shoot 10-under-par, you have to hit it well also. I did that today," he said.

Duval's sizzling 63 matched the Plantation Course record set by Steve Pate during the 1997 Kapalua International, an unofficial PGA event. It was the third time in Duval's career that he shot 10 under. The other two were rounds of 62 in the 1997 AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and the Tucson Open last year.

After making the turn at 4-under 32, Duval birdied 11, 12 and then holes 14 through 16 to go 9 under. Birdie number 10 came at the 663-yard, par-5 finishing hole that finally played downwind as the trades slowly started to return, clearing some of the hazy vog that has hung over this West Maui resort.

Associated Press
Tiger Woods reacts to making a birdie putt on the
third green of the Plantation Course during second
round play of the Mercedes Championship yesterday.

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Duval got on in two with a 3-wood from 270 yards out and two-putted from 50 feet for his birdie-4. He didn't bother with the yardage on his second shot. He told his caddy, who was about to check the yardage, "Don't bother about it. It's about a 3-wood anyway."

Like he said, it was just a matter of hitting it close and making the putt. Golf by the numbers. Connect the dots.

Duval says he likes to play it that way, so that he can be stress free.

"You know, it (golf as a cut-and-dried game) really is. There's nothing you can do. I just go out there and try to execute and play smart and hit the shots," Duval said. "You can sit and gripe. (But), man, you better go hit it again because you can't do it over."

Hey, whatever works. And it seems to be a successful formula for Duval.

"He was in a zone. He was flawless. He makes the game look pretty easy," said Billy Andrade, who was paired with Duval yesterday. "I played with him two days at the Fred Meyer Challenge and he did the same thing. I think he likes playing with me."

If that's not bad news enough for the rest of the winners-only field battling for the $486,000 top prize, Duval admits to being a pretty good front-runner.

"I've gotten to the point where I've led a few golf tournaments going in on Sunday, continued playing well and won them," said Duval, who has won three of eight tournaments that he led after 36 holes.

Of the three closest pursuers, Singh made up the most ground with his 65 yesterday.

"I hit a lot of good iron shots and a lot of my birdies were tap-ins," said Singh, who had finished second to Duval on the 1998 money list with $2.23 million.

Singh missed a 312-footer for eagle at the par-5 ninth or he would have shot a 64. "I missed a good opportunity there," said Singh, who plans on playing 10 of the tour's first 12 events, including next week's Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club.

Mayfair and Funk both shot 65 yesterday, while Pate and Joe Durant -- who also had shared the first-day lead -- were tied at 136 with identical 70s.

Another shot back at 137 were Andrade, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and John Cook.

Well back at 142 after shooting a 70 is defending champion Phil Mickelson, who won the event last year when it was held at the La Costa Country Club in Carlsbad, Calif.

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Kapalua has been
kind ... so far

Without the tradewinds, the
Plantation Course has been a pushover

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

KAPALUA, Maui -- By late yesterday afternoon, the cloudy skies were the best indication that the tradewinds could be in full force by the start of today's third round of the Mercedes Championships.

So far, the wicked winds of the east have stayed away from West Maui, leaving The Plantation Course at the mercy of 30 of the best golfers in the world.

The blistering two-day totals weren't exactly what designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore had in mind. Led by leader David Duval, who tied a course record with a stunning 10-under 63, the top 11 golfers were a combined 53-under yesterday and 114 strokes below par after 36 holes.

Only Australian Steve Elkington and Florida resident Michael Bradley were over par at 1-over and 3-over, respectively. Half the field is at 6-under or better.

''Fortunately for the field here, we haven't had a taste of what this golf course usually plays like with tradewinds,'' Duval said. ''My understanding is we will have them this weekend. I think you'll see a lot different scores, a lot different shots.''

Duval is speaking from experience, albeit limited. His one time here in 1993 at the old Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International, Duval finished 40th with a four-day total of 298. He pocketed $8,250 for his troubles.

''I wouldn't have thought so after that four-day venture,'' Duval said when asked if this course was a good one for him. ''You know, I really don't know what to say about that. I feel like we as players are well-equipped to play most any type golf courses.''

Coming into the tournament, most figured Davis Love III and Fred Couples would have a distinct advantage here because of their storied history with the former Kapalua International.

But that's with the wind howling at their backs. These calm conditions have allowed even relative Plantation Course novices such as Duval, Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods to post low scores.

''This is my first time here, but I saw it a lot of times on TV,'' Singh said. ''I think it's a good course for me. It's a long driver's course. If you drive it way down there, you're going to hit a lot of short irons to the greens.''

Short approaches have resulted in many easy birdie chances for this elite field. Somewhat surprisingly, there have been only two eagles in two days. Love and Billy Mayfair accomplished that feat at the par-5 ninth. No one had an eagle during yesterday's round.

''This course hasn't been as difficult as I had heard,'' said Woods, who is tied with Mark O'Meara for 12th place. ''But that has a lot to do with the wind. There isn't any and that allows you to go right at the pins.''

Should the breezes kick up for this morning's third round, it could prove interesting over the weekend. That's when the local knowledge may come in handy for Couples and Love, who are tied for seventh at 9-under-par.

''Guys will be going to their bags, wondering what to hit,'' Couples said.

''Whatever you used for the first two rounds, you can forget about if the wind blows. But if it doesn't, the final total could be very low.''

Which is something the local fans seem to be enjoying. Most folks don't pay to see the top players putting for par. They are obviously excited about the low totals, ooohing and ahhhing after each periodic update of the leaderboard.

''The golf course was probably the most vulnerable it could play without any wind out there,'' said Mayfair, who is tied with Singh and Fred Funk for second at 11-under. ''The scores are obviously an indication of that. If the weather changes, I think the scores will change, too.''

Yesterday's round was moved up nearly three hours for fear the storms that pounded Oahu would do the same here. But such was not the case. Not a drop fell during the second round.

There was a perceptible shift in the winds, however, as they changed from Kona to trades, but it wasn't anything dramatic. The cloud cover later indicated rain was moving in front of the normal tradewind flow.

''Hopefully, if it does rain, it's during the evening,'' said Steve Pate, whose record 63 was tied yesterday by Duval. ''The course has played strangely without any wind.

''I imagine for the guys who haven't been here before, it has played a lot easier. I'd just as soon see the tradewinds blow because that's the way I'm used to it. It's not going to play real difficult without the wind.''

Mercedes Championship

At Kapalua, Hawaii

Second round
Par 73

David Duval -- 67-63--130
Vijay Singh -- 70-65--135
Billy Mayfair -- 66-69--135
Fred Funk -- 66-69--135
Joe Durant -- 66-70--136
Steve Pate -- 66-70--136
Fred Couples -- 69-68--137
Davis Love III -- 69-68--137
Jim Furyk -- 68-69--137
John Cook -- 68-69--137
Billy Andrade -- 67-70--137
Mark O'Meara -- 70-68--138
Tiger Woods -- 69-69--138
Jeff Sluman -- 73-67--140
Justin Leonard -- 68-72--140
Mark Calcavecchia -- 70-71--141
J.P. Hayes -- 70-71--141
Stuart Appleby -- 70-71--141
Brandel Chamblee -- 70-71--141
Lee Janzen -- 69-72--141
Phil Mickelson -- 72-70--142
John Huston -- 71-71--142
Scott Simpson -- 71-71--142
Chris Perry -- 69-73--142
Jesper Parnevik -- 69-74--143
Steve Jones -- 75-69--144
Tom Watson -- 74-71--145
Trevor Dodds -- 72-73--145
Steve Elkington -- 74-73--147
Michael Bradley -- 71-78--149