Duval slips after good Friday

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – David Duval began his second hole of the day with a drive that hooked to the left, caromed off a tree and landed in the rough – far short of where the fairway begins. Then he hit a sensational 3-wood to the front of the green and got up and down for par.

His good fortune at the U.S. Open pretty much ended right there.

Duval followed with the first of his seven bogeys Saturday and shot a 75, seven strokes worse than the 68 he carded Friday. That was his best round in a major since 2001 and let him make the cut in a major for the first time in four years.

“I played OK,” he said. “It’s just that a couple of shots I thought were good bounced a little the wrong way and turned into bogeys. That’s about it.”

The same can be said for his shot at winning his first U.S. Open. Yet Duval wasn’t ready to concede anything, even though his 10-over-par 220 was eight shots behind third-round leaders Phil Mickelson and Kenneth Ferrie.

“I still think I have a chance. It’s going to take a round of 4 or 5, maybe 6 under, but I’m going to be out ahead of everybody,” he said. “If I can (finish) plus-4 or plus-5, you never know how that could turn out.”

After the par save at No. 2, Duval bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4 and then did the same on 7 and 8. A birdie on No. 11 was offset by successive bogeys on 13 and 14. Duval then finished the round with two pars, a birdie on 17 and a bogey on 18.

Afterward, he met with his family and signed autographs before fading out of view.

Harried Harrington

Had he simply parred the 18th hole, Padraig Harrington would have been one shot off the lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Open.

Instead, he took an unwanted tour of the par-4 hole and carded an adventurous triple-bogey that put him at 216, four shots behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Kenneth Ferrie.

It started with a drive into the left rough. Harrington’s next shot dribbled about 10 feet, and the Irishman followed that with an iron that landed in the right-side bunker.

After a mediocre chip, his putt from about 40 feet rolled about 12 feet from the pin, and he two-putted from there.

“I hit it 10 feet right of the flag and I was with a 40-footer over the hill. That’s the kind of golf course this is,” he said. “I’m taking the putt, thinking we’ve taken the putt numerous times in practice, and we knew the pin would be up there.

“My last thought was I might as well try and hole it.”

Imada makes move

Ryuji Imada of Japan was the only player other than co-leader Phil Mickelson to break par on a wicked day at Winged Foot.

The 29-year-old Imada matched Mickelson’s 1-under 69 and was at 218 for 54 holes, moving from a tie for 53rd to a tie for 16th.

“If someone told me I can shoot 69 today, I’d be dancing,” Imada said.

Imada is playing in his third U.S. Open. He missed the cut in 2000, and tied for 15th last year when he shot a 2-under 68 in the second round at Pinehurst.

Howell avoids total crash

David Howell was headed toward another dismal finish when he managed a par on No. 18 to cap a 74.

Howell had a bogey and a double bogey heading into the hole, conjuring memories of his first two rounds. On Thursday, he had two bogeys and a double-bogey over the last four holes to finish with a 70. On Friday, he did the same thing, albeit on the front nine after starting at No. 10.

“This course is designed to test your patience and play with your mind,” he said. “Half of the thing is not letting it.”

He blamed frustration for his poor finish the first two days and bad luck for his 74 in the third round.

“I played about as well as a man can play to shoot 4 over,” he said. “You need a bit of luck to get it around here, and I don’t feel I’ve had it.”

Not too many Cooks

John Cook couldn’t have asked for better company during his foray around Winged Foot.

Cook’s caddie was his son, Jason, and his playing partner was club pro Andrew Svoboda, who has an intimate knowledge of the course.

Sixty-three players made the cut, and Cook was the odd-man out because he was the last one in at 149 on Friday. He could have played alone, but accepted the option of using Svoboda as a partner.

“I knew who the marker would be and I said fine. He plays here and just missed the cut, so it wasn’t like I was playing the club champion who can’t break 100,” Cook said. “Andrew was great. He’s a good player, he’s a pro and he plays fast, too, so it was fine.”

The best part of the day for Cook, however, was that his son handed him clubs on the day before Father’s Day.

“It’s pretty special. My dad’s here, too,” Cook said. “To have my dad here and my son carrying my bag, it doesn’t get better than that.”

Jason, 20, got a thrill out of being on the course on the penultimate day of the U.S. Open.

Cook shot 74, bouncing back from a bogey on 17 with a scrambling par on 18.

“I felt like I played a pretty good round of golf today,” he said. “Seventeen was kind of a disaster, but to make that at 18 was a nice way to end it.”