What now for David Duval? Off the course, he's found love. He's about to become a husband and a father of three. He says he still loves the game, too. There's just one question: will it love him back?

Golf Digest, March, 2004 by Jaime Diaz

"With David, it's funny," continues Rotella. "As much as people see him as a loner, he's not a guy who wants to be alone. He knows that he wants to have love and find a great woman and have a great life and relationship and family. It's always been important to him. He's a very healthy guy in that regard. And I've always said, 'David, fine. I think it's great that you're willing to listen to that other part of yourself.' David has always been a guy who likes being himself and doing it his way, and he's never had a problem being a little different."

Duval sees nothing strange in this. "I've never really understood it, but when you're a successful professional athlete in our society, not only are you not allowed to play poorly, you're not really allowed to be human," he says. "I'm 32 years old. You start seeking different things in your life, putting together the missing pieces. Just like anybody does."

Out of respect for his talent and his record, most of Duval's peers say they believe he will come back. But at least one victim of the game's abyss wonders. "A successful tour player is mentally bulletproof," Baker-Finch says. "But when he loses that bulletproof vest, it's very hard to be really confident again. Historically, the odds are against you."

Rotella acknowledges it won't be easy.

"David's been very strong about this, and outwardly very cool," he says, "but you can see it breaking his heart a little bit. This is a different kind of test. It's one thing to climb the ladder, another to fall down and get back up again. The story is not over. It's a long story in golf."

Appraising his chances of making a successful comeback, Duval's outward coolness conceals any trace of inner turmoil. "I might. I might not," he says evenly.

Either way, he really seems fine.