Duval hanging in at Q School

It's still too early in the marathon proceedings to know whether David Duval will succeed in regaining his PGA Tour exemption through the Tour Qualifying Tournament, but he deserves credit just for being there, while also acknowledging that it is not beneath him.

"I didn't feel like I should be in his position, but I am," Duval said earlier this week. "I decided I'm not above going to Q School like anyone else."

The quality of his play in recent years might have induced others to quit, and stumbles in the first two rounds of Q School at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., could have compounded the temptation for him to do so. But Duval has gamely hung in.

In round one, he double-bogeyed a pair of par 5s, yet still forged a score of one-under par 71. In round two, he went out in 40, but cobbled together a good back nine, a three-under 33, to remain in the game. And early in the third round on Friday, he birdied three consecutive holes to climb further up the leaderboard in his improbable bid to resurrect a career that at one time had him ranked No. 1 in the world.

-- John Strege