Florida Golf Monthly

Duval Had a Choice... Sometimes taking a risk pays off.

In days gone by, when a man reached the half-century mark, he started easing his way down the road towards retirement. Today he faces a new challenge. In some cases, his age causes him to become a victim of downsizing. In others, boredom sets in or he's ridden with the middle-age crazies. As a result, change of direction when a man makes it to the mid-field of life has become a sign of the times.

Bob Duval didn't absolutely have to make a change when he reached 50. He could have stayed in the pro shop at Timiquana Country Club. He had a secure reputation as a player in the southeast. Everyone knew they'd better have some game if they crossed the Florida state line and wanted to tangle with the top cat. Duval had all this, and it was wrapped in a close circle of friends. In addition, he could sit on the clubhouse porch and say, "Yep, that's my boy David out on Tour, making all that money and winning all those tournaments." He possessed the rare combination of prestige and security &emdash; a combination earned only from years of hard work.

Why then, at 50, would he put all this on the line to become one of hundreds hoping to be not number one, but just one of 31 - one of the 31 top players on the PGA Senior Tour money list? The answer is simple, Duval is a player, and like all players, he needed to know just how good he really is (or isn't). It's the curse of playing golf at a high level; you have to know where you stand.

During his first season on the PGA Senior Tour, Duval not only found out where he stood, but where he had to fly, where he had to sleep and where he had to play as well. He received a crash course in both geography and arranging travel schedules. Duval's change of life would have intimidated most men, but he just forged ahead into the unknown.

"For most of the year," recalls Duval, "I never knew where I was going to be playing. I had to try to qualify on Mondays for the tournament that week. It was tough. If I had qualified for the tournament the week before, I would have to make travel arrangements out of town on Sunday night so I could be at the next stop that night to try to qualify the next morning."

Of course there was always the unforeseen to complicate his life even more. "I had to try to qualify for the tournament in Pittsburgh," explains Duval, "and I didn't get to my hotel until after midnight. I knew the course was about an hour and a half from the hotel and I had to play at 8:00 in the morning. I was on the road at 5:00 a.m. and didn't know where I was going, but I made it. I qualified that week and ended up losing in a playoff to Hugh Baiocchi."

The irony of Duval losing in a playoff to Baiocchi wasn't lost on either player. Those two players, along with Leonard Thompson and Dana Quigley, formed a tightly knit quartet. They traveled together to Monday qualifiers, played practice rounds together, helped each other with their swing problems and were always available for support.

"Yeah," says Duval with a mischievous grin, "I got beat by my good friend Hugh Baiocchi.

The South African may have won that week, but it didn't lessen his appreciation of his friend. "One of us had to win, and one of had to lose," says Baiocchi. "I'm sorry that I beat Bob. I'd rather that I beat anyone else but him. Yet, I didn't want to lose either. He's a good friend and he understands."

Although Duval is still looking for his first Senior Tour win, he can claim one victory that will last forever: his friendship with Baiocchi. "We kind of got thrown together," says Baiocchi, "and we've spent a lot of time together, and our wives have spent a lot of time together. When we first came to America, Bob and (his wife) Shari really showed us how to get around and really helped us with the transition of moving from South Africa to the United States. It has been a very nice friendship."

Baiocchi isn't worried about his pal Duval joining him in the winner's circle in the near future. He admires his game. "He drives it big and has a lot of distance. That's his strength," says Baiocchi. "He's a good putter too. He's really laid back and relaxed. I like his attitude a lot. To win, you've got to have the breaks and get lucky for the week. You win when you get the breaks at the right time. With Bob's attitude, he'll be able to take advantage of those breaks when they come his way."

It should be easier for Duval to relax and win a tournament this year. He has already proven that he can win money - and large sums of it in a limited-opportunity situation. Remember, on the PGA Tour, they play for the top 125 spots. On the Senior PGA Tour, it's the top 31, or you're back to Q-School and/or the Monday qualifying rat race.

"Last year, I had to watch a lot," says Duval. "I had a good week at the tournament in Napa [California, the Transamerica] where I won $22,000 and finished tied for eighth. That boosted me to 26th on the money list with four weeks to go. I then had to go to Hawaii the next week [for the Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic]. I won $16,150 (tied for 13th), and I wasn't in after that."

As Duval watched other players catch up to and pass him on the money list, the nerves got a little frayed. He went on the road for Monday qualifiers to try to protect his position. With time running short, every shot became more critical, and his game wasn't firing on all cylinders. The best he could do was third alternate in both Los Angeles and Sacramento. All that was left was to go back to Jacksonville to sit and wait.

"I was watching who was doing what," says Duval. "Jimmy Powell and Hubert Green were playing so good, I knew they'd pass me. What I needed was to stay ahead of Bob Dickson and JC Snead. If they didn't have big weeks, I was in. The day after the Los Angeles tournament (Ralphs Senior Classic), I called the tournament office to see how I stood. After the entire season, I made it. There was a total of $1,200 between 31st and 32nd place."

It didn't matter a whit to the Duval, the man in 31st place. He was on a cloud as he packed his bags and headed for the Energizer Senior Tour Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as the last invited guest. As he had done all year, Duval made the best of the opportunity, winning $73,000 during the week after challenging for the lead for the first three rounds of the 72-hole event.

"It was quite a year," he says now, "but it was worth it. I was really tired at the end of the year, but there were little bonuses. I got invited to play in the Diners Club matches and I got to stay home and rest over the holidays. I really got lazy then. It was great.

"I feel very fortunate to be exempt. I really feel for guys like David Ojala and Will Sowles who had qualified and didn't make it into the top 31. I know what they have to go through. They're good players who weren't lucky."

As he talked about his experiences, Duval thought about the reality of his situation and what has happened over the past year. "It's really scary," he says. "I've actually been out here less than a year when you look at the number of tournaments I've played and I've already passed Sam Snead on the all-time money list. In a 12-month span, I've made a million dollars. It's hard to believe. In April, I wrote the biggest check of my life and didn't have to worry about it bouncing. It's been really something."

Remember &emdash; he could have stayed in the pro shop. His life and reputation were pretty secure. But Duval put it all on the line and came up a winner.

"The one thing I do miss is my friends from around home," says Duval. "We've made it a point to stay in touch with everyone from on the road. We've run up some pretty good phone bills, but it's been worth it."

What Duval has found is, he has won more than the money. While he finally finished 28th on the money list, the fact that he keeps in touch with friends back home and maintains new friendships on the Senior Tour enabled him to finish even higher on the friendship list. Duval has found that he rolled the dice in one game and came up a winner in two.