For Duval, Truly a Memorable First

David Duval said other people have always seemed more concerned about when he would win on the PGA Tour. And after seven second-place finishes, there were always a lot of questions.

On Sunday, Duval answered, knocking in a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a three-man playoff to win the Michelob Championship at Williamsburg, Va.

“I don’t know what to say,” Duval said. “I guess the anticipation was great, obviously. At the same time, I felt like my time would come. Other people made a bigger deal out of it than I would let it be.”

Duval’s putt on the par-four 18th, after Duffy Waldorf took a bogey and Grant Waite left a long birdie try about 18 inches short, was worth $279,000.

All three finished with 13-under-par 271s on the 6,797-yard River Course at Kingsmill Golf Club, Duval and Waite after 67s, Waldorf after a 70.

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Ernie Els couldn’t gauge his distance, and it cost him a chance to win his fourth consecutive World Match Play title at Virginia Water, England.

Vijay Singh beat him 1-up, ending Els’ 11-match unbeaten streak in the tournament.

Neither Singh nor Els could get the measure of the wet fairways and spongy greens at the Wentworth Club, soaked by all-day rain Saturday and half-dried by gusty winds Sunday.

In the 18-hole third-place match, Brad Faxon defeated Nick Price of Zimbabwe 5 and 4.

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Dave Eichelberger birdied the final two holes to cap a final-round two-under-par 70 and win the $800,000 Transamerica seniors tournament by four strokes over a group of four.

Eichelberger’s victory at Silverado Country Club in Napa, his first of the year and third as a senior, was worth $120,000 and increased his earnings in his best season as a senior to $728,922.

“I realized I was playing good for a few weeks,” Eichelberger said after his four-round total of 205. “I was hoping to win a tournament.”

Frank Conner had a 67 to lead the group of four at 209. He was joined by Terry Dill, 71, John Jacobs, 72, and DeWitt Weaver, 73.

Johnny Miller, a Silverado resident, shot a final-round 70 and finished at 215. Arnold Palmer’s closing 73 left him at 219.