David Duval says he is ready to reclaim his place in the golfing elite after a second-place finish at the US Open.
Former world number one confident of building on US Open display
David Duval believes he is ready to reclaim his place in the golfing elite after emerging from an eight-year slump with a second-place finish at the US Open.
Duval ended alongside Phil Mickelson and Ricky Barnes, two shots behind champion Lucas Glover at Bethpage Black, his best performance since winning the Open in 2001.
He came into the tournament ranked 882nd in the world but defied his lowly status with a superb display and was briefly tied for the lead with Glover after a late run of birdies on the final day.
However, a fairytale victory was not be as his challenge effectively ended when a par putt on the 17th lipped out.
But a tie for second still represented a remarkable change of fortune for a man whose career had been in freefall almost since the moment he secured his maiden major at Royal Lytham eight years ago.
Dominating
He had won 11 times in 18 months on the PGA Tour between October 1997 and April 1999, including a round of 59 on the final-day of the 1999 Bope Hope Chrysler Classic, and briefly displaced Tiger Woods as world number one.
"It's what I want," Duval said. "It may be arrogance, but it's where I feel like I belong.
"I was glad to come up here and hit the golf ball and control myself like I've been saying I've been doing, and how I've been talking about how I know I'm playing a lot better than my results have been showing.
"I stand before you certainly happy with how I played, but extremely disappointed in the outcome.
"I had no question in my mind I was going to win the golf tournament today."
Duval's Bethpage heroics saw him leap an incredible 740 places to 142nd in the updated world rankings.
The 37-year-old, who is in the final year of his PGA Tour exemption, is also up to 82nd in the money list. The top 125 at the end of the season retain their cards.
