BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- Bob Duval travels to Senior PGA Tour events with a laptop computer. That enables him to keep track of his son's scores through the Internet.
It's not that hard to find David Duval's results; they're often near the top of the leaderboard. In 19 PGA Tour events this year, he has three titles and nine top-10 finishes.
While Bob, 51, is enjoying his most consistent year on the Senior Tour, son David is at the top of the PGA Tour and world money list with more than $2 million in prize money.
Dad, who is 15th on the Senior Tour money list ($639,262), is not surprised by David's success. His son was a college All-American at Georgia Tech, the 1993 Nike Tour champion and now he is No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking behind Tiger Woods.
David, 26, had not won in his first 86 PGA Tour starts as a pro, but captured the final three events of last year, including the Tour Championship in Houston, and finished 1997 ranked No. 2.
"That's the way he's done it all his life in the different leagues," said Bob, who tees off at 8:40 a.m. today in the Kroger Senior Classic. "It seems like once he gets comfortable, then he starts.
"I'm not surprised at all. The thing that surprised me were the two cuts he missed, at the PGA (in August) and then the next week (Sprint International). Then we won the following week at the World Series (of Golf in Akron)."
Bob, the only teacher David has ever had, has not been too shabby either.
He has nine top-10 finishes this year and 17 in the top 20. This is his second year on the Senior circuit, and he said knowing the courses helps.
"It's been real good," he said. "I'm pretty satisfied so far.
"Last year, I just had to qualify for some tournaments and beg for sponsor exemptions (he got one for the 1997 Kroger). This year, being fully exempt, it's a lot easier if you can come in on Tuesday or Wednesday and relax a little bit more.
"Knowing the guys on the tour that you play with every week helps . . . You feed off each other and you're out there having a good time."
