David Duval says Zurich appearance taught him, ‘I don’t belong out there any longer’

As Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas were wrapping up their final round at the PGA Championship, ESPN’s on-course reporter, John Maginnes, posed a question to David Duval.

Maginnes, a former Tour player, asked Duval, who has been sitting in the booth this week with host Scott Van Pelt, if he was learning anything from watching the players compete at Oak Hill.

Duval, 51, plays the PGA Tour Champions and last month competed alongside John Daly in the PGA Tour’s team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

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“You know what gave me a better perspective, was playing at the Zurich with JD … a few weeks back,” Duval responded to Maginnes.

“And what did you learn?” inquired Van Pelt.

“I don’t belong out there any longer,” Duval stated. “I was blessed, I had my time. When I played, I was one of the longer hitters. And now these guys, it’s just a different game.”

Duval won 13 times on Tour, his last coming at the 2001 Open Championship. He and Daly, in the New Orleans field on a sponsor’s exemption, shot 75-83 to finish last by 12 shots. 

After discussing how impressive it is for Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington to still be able to compete with the younger set, Duval said, “I think that some of that goes to, as well, the mentality of the modern player and how they look at it and go about playing. It’s attack, attack, attack.

“For Curtis [Strange], for me, for John, when he was playing, it was more a positional game.”

Strange, a Hall of Famer and two-time major champion who works as an ESPN analyst, added, “You couldn’t overpower the golf course. A couple of guys did. But it was more about putting it, strategically, point to point to point across the golf course.”