What are we all to make of David Duval, the former world number one who has now fallen so far that last Friday he lost his US Tour card?

If the US Open had not happened in June nobody would have been surprised because Duval's dramatic decline in the game started in 2002, when he plunged from eighth to 80th on the American money list.

A year later he was 212th and for six seasons - either side of taking a complete seven-month break from golf - he did not manage a single top-10 finish.

But then came Bethpage Black this summer and suddenly it was as though all the demons had been banished.

In what is traditionally the most gruelling week of any year the 2001 Open champion, 882nd on the world rankings and a qualifier, began with a three-under-par 67 and with two holes to play was tied for the lead.

Without a victory on the circuit since Royal Lytham, it had the makings of a story that would have rivalled that of 59-year-old Tom Watson triumphing at Turnberry a month later.

Neither happened. Duval's par putt on the short 17th horseshoed out and, as Watson would, he finished runner-up.

Surely, though, the performance was all what was needed to reignite the 37-year-old's career. If he could play that beast of a course others would seem so much easier.

Wrong.

In his following seven events Duval missed six halfway cuts. After picking up a cheque for nearly USD560,000 on Long Island he earned under USD11,000 in the next four and a half months.

And so he came to last week's Children's Miracle Network Classic in Florida hoping not so much for a miracle of his own, but simply a solid week that would extend his Tour career for another year without the need for special invitations.

Duval was 125th on the money list and 125 was the number of players to earn exemptions for next season. A top-50 finish might have been good enough but he crashed out in 120th spot after rounds of 76 and 73.

What now then given that he had used up his one-year exemption as one of the US Tour's top 50 career money winners?

Duval, who despite banking over USD17million finds himself on the outside looking in, tried to be as upbeat as possible when he spoke to reporters.

"I feel that the overall picture of the year, I feel like it was mostly successful," he said.

"I talked a lot early on in the year about coming back, building the confidence that I had for so long and I feel like for the most part I did that.

"But the number one goal I made for myself for the year I all but did - win the US Open. I certainly proved myself okay there and I'm excited about everything I'm doing.

"I'm not real pleased about not finishing in the 125. It's not fun, but really I haven't been focusing on it a whole lot."

He remains hopeful that the invites will come.

"I'd like to think that with the relationships I've built up for 14-15 years out here, the events I go to year in, year out would show me a little love if I need it."

Duval could, of course, enter the Tour qualifying school, but he added: "I don't know. Not certain when it is, first of all.

"I think it's in December, first couple weeks maybe. If you were going to bet, I'd probably not plan on going.

"I've played long enough and it's difficult now for me. Being married and with kids it's tough to take off for what needs to be probably a 10, 11, 12-day trip in an off-season when you're looking forward to being home."

As John Daly did for a while while banned in America, Duval could venture over to the European Tour, but for those same family reasons that seems highly unlikely.

There have been some flashes of his old brilliance other than at Bethpage.

He was joint fourth at halfway in last year's Open, but then came an 83. There is good golf in there, but what a struggle it has been to get it out.

Yet what a difference it would have made had he played those last two holes of the US Open a little bit better and won.A five-year US Tour and new 10-year European Tour exemption would have been his, not to mention a cheque for USD1.35million and any invite he wanted.

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The weekend also saw the end of Scott Drummond's five-year exemption for winning the 2004 PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Drummond has suffered a slump every bit as bad as Duval's, making only a handful of cuts and going over four and a half years without a top-10 finish.

At least the 35-year-old Scot gave his confidence a much-needed boost with an 11th place in Hong Kong on Sunday.