13-time PGA Tour winner Duval will tee it up at Web.com Tour event for the first time in almost 25 years
By Gary Baines – 05/30/2019
The last year that David Duval competed in a Web.com Tour event, the New York Knicks made it to the NBA Finals.
Yes, it was that long ago — 1994, to be exact — and Duval was 22 years old.
But things will change in less than two months as the former top-ranked golfer on the planet plans to play in the inaugural TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes in Berthoud July 11-14.
That’s right, a winner of 13 PGA Tour events, including the 2001 British Open, will tee it up on the feeder circuit for the PGA Tour for the first time in almost a quarter-century. On Thursday, Duval, a Cherry Hills Village resident, attended a promotional event for the TPC Colorado Championship and for the golf course.
“It certainly will be different, but these guys (on the Web.com Tour) are eager, these guys are incredible players,” said the 47-year-old Duval (pictured), who spends more time doing work as a TV analyst on the Golf Channel nowadays than he does playing competitive golf. “You still have to go out and compete and shoot wonderful scores to have a chance against them.”
When Duval was approached about playing in the Web event at TPC Colorado, he had to give it some serious thought given that he’ll be competing the following week in the British Open at Royal Portrush, a course in Northern Ireland that he’s never seen.
“I chose the opportunity to have a competitive week at home, which I thought would be more productive than an extra practice round at the Open,” he said. “I can navigate those courses (after) getting a couple of practice rounds in, with yardage books.
“I wanted to try to support this (Web) event since it came here. Professional golf on an annual basis has been missing a long, long time in Colorado (since the PGA Tour’s International ended a 21-year run at Castle Pines in 2016). Just the ability to try to support it was important.”
Duval has lived in the Cherry Hills Village area for the last 16 years, aside from a five-month stretch in which he moved back to the Jacksonville, Fla., area, where he grew up.
“We missed home — (Colorado) being home,” Duval explained about the about-face. “That’s all. We just decided this is where we belong.”
Before he earned all 13 of his PGA Tour victories in a five-year stretch from 1997 through 2001, Duval won twice on the Web.com Tour — then known as the Nike Tour — in 1993, and also played on that circuit in 1994. His final Web event was the Nike Tour Championship, where he finished sixth in mid-October 1994.
Notable: Also attending Thursday’s promotional event at TPC Colorado was Denver native Mark Hubbard, who won an event on the Web.com Tour in February and has finished in the top six in the last two tournaments. Check back for a story on Hubbard in the coming weeks on ColoradoGolf.org. … The yardage for the TPC Colorado course for the Web event will be approximately 7,991 yards, with the par-5 13th tipping out at 773 yards. “That’s a lot of real estate,” noted Duval. … The field for the TPC Colorado Championship will include 156 players, with 65 and ties after 36 holes advancing to the weekend. … Twelve of the competitors will come from Monday qualifying tournaments July 8 at two sites, Riverdale Dunes in Brighton and Highland Meadows in Windsor. … Organizers say more than 500 volunteers and in excess of 50 sponsors have signed up for the TPC Colorado Championship. … Before July 7, ticket prices for the TPC Colorado Championship are: $35 for the entire week; $15 for any single day; and $10 for a practice or pro-am round. Those 17 and under will be admitted free. For more information, CLICK HERE.