Golf was his outlet, his release, and he drove himself to be the best. Most figured he was a slam-dunk for stardom, and they were right. It just took a little longer than expected. After not winning in his first 86 PGA Tour starts, Duval won the last three tournaments in 1997. He's already won twice this year, most recently at last week's Houston Open , where he overtook the leaders with a final-round 64.
Confidence is a funny thing.
Once you get it, anything is possible. He could have and should have won the Masters last month, owning a three-shot lead on the 16th tee Sunday. That created just enough of an opening for Mark O'Meara , who birdied the last two holes to win. Don't feel sorry for Duval. He'll have more major chances, probably at next month's U.S. Open Championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.