Former world number one David Duval has claimed that Tiger Woods may be nearing a return to his victorious days of old.
Duval was Woods’ first legitimate rival on the pro-golfing circuit, and subsequently knows his old adversary’s game better than most.
Having seen Tiger at his very best and very worst, the 46-year-old Duval thinks there is reason for optimism:
What I saw this weekend (at the Players Championship) makes me excited. It could be incredibly close,
Speaking on the Golf Channel, Duval went on to say:
We’ve all questioned what is the top for him in this comeback? What can his body do, what can his new golf game do?
Having had the opportunity to speak to him about it, we were all in a hurry to judge what was going on. I sat up here and said let’s give him the starts, let’s give him the summer, let’s give him the year, let’s see if he can gain some of the freedom he needs.
The 2001 Open champion was convinced Woods had shown what he needed to:
Well, it looked to me this week that he regained that freedom. I watched the club pass the body through the downswing, watched him maintain his spine angle through that process.
With 79 PGA Tour wins to his name, the 42-year-old is three championships behind Sam Snead. Whilst that mark may prove too lofty to overcome, glorious days may yet still be ahead of the much-loved Tiger Woods.
