David Duval was upbeat after his joint second-place finish at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Comeback gathers pace at Pebble Beach
Renaissance man David Duval was keen to focus on the positives from his joint second-place finish at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Duval's closing 69 saw him tied for the lead in the clubhouse before fellow American Dustin Johnson, playing in the final group, birdied the 18th for a one-shot victory.
The 38-year-old, world number one back in 1999, has endured a spectacular fall from grace over the past nine years, at one point plunging down to 882nd in the rankings.
His Pebble Beach result, while no fairytale, was pleasing for Duval, who had to wait eight months from his tie for second at last year's US Open for another top five showing.
"I feel like I played really well," said Duval, who claimed the most recent of his 19 professional victories at the 2001 Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.
"I hit the ball good and in general I feel like I did most of the things I wanted to do."
Despite his US Open effort, Duval finished 130th on the money list last year and lost his PGA Tour card - then failed at Q-school.
He has had to rely on past winner categories, sponsor exemptions and any other way he can think of to keep the comeback going.
Loyalty
"I was hoping that my support and loyalty to a lot of events over the better part of 15 years would help me in that way," he added. "So far it has."
Duval gained entry to Pebble Beach courtesy of a Players Championship win back in 1999. Even then, his appearance was threatened when his back flared up during a practice round on Monday.
The chronic injury, which has dogged Duval for a decade, settled to allow him to tee off.
"Happy to just be playing," he admitted. "Went out on Monday to play, and had to walk off it. I couldn't play."
"I feel like I've been playing well. I don't feel like I've gotten anything out of it for a long time."
