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I was surprised to see David Duval's name in the pairings for Thursday. Any speculation on what he'll shoot, if he'll make the cut, or whether he'll have the highest score among former British Open winners?

My bet is 85, no, and yes. And I really like David Duval! :)

Duval looks like he's serious in his comeback, but geesh, could he have picked two tougher tournaments - The Opens?

I hope he makes the cut, but I think his chances are VERY slim.

He needs to grind it out on the regular tour for an extended length of time, possibly a year or more, to honestly assess where his game is. JMHO

Good luck to him - he was a joy to watch when his game was "on."

I like Duvall too and I'm glad he's playing. I hope he's worked on his game and can improve on his US Open scores. :( My bet is he will shoot lower that 1973 Open Champion (at Troon) Tom Weiskopf. Ian Baker-Finch isn't playing so David better be sharp if he wants to avoid your dubious distinction!

I've always been a DD fan but I'm starting to believe he's got everything out of golf he wants and isn't compelled to find his way back to the top. I really hope I'm wrong and I'd love to see his name on the Leaderboard in the very near future.

I picked up these odds to win from one of JimeSomebody's Open websites.....David Duvall 400-1, Sandy Lyle 750-1. The oddsmakers don't always get it right but those are some looooonnngg odds!

Will be interesting to see how he gets on...just mind out for low flying clubs! ;)

I just checked the pairings this morning and discovered that David has withdrawn from the tournament. I relieved and sorry at the same time.

I just hope that the reason wasn't injury. If anyone knows, please post.

From the BBC website...

"Former champion David Duval withdrew from the Open moments before he was due to start his opening round at Troon.

The 2001 winner has pulled out because of a bad back and has been replaced in the draw by England's David Griffiths.

Griffiths, who played in local final qualifying at Western Gailes, teed off with Sweden's Carl Pettersson and New Zealand's Craig Perks.

He was the fifth reserve player to come into the tournament following injuries to four players during the week. "

Thanks, Xko. I'm really very sorry to see that David's back was the cause. I can only hope that he's using his back as an excuse, rather than actually having a serious problem.

I agree valeogut, but if its his psyche that is injured it could take longer to heal than his back.

I still wish him well, whether he's serious about a golf comeback or not, and hope he finds what he's looking for.

Aside - anyone else notice the resemblance between David and the guy who keeps winning on Jeopardy? Maybe its just me, but I swear if you put wraparound sunglasses on the guy he'd be a dead ringer for Duval's brother. :)