Not David Duval.

	David Duval hit just 10 of 18 greens in regulation and took 31 putts Saturday, his worst figures of the week.

He had one of his worst days of the year, yet Duval remained calm. He slipped back on the U.S. Open leaderboard, from a tie for first to fifth, yet did not concede.

Duval talked like a player who has won major championships, instead of one searching for his first.

"Nothing happened that was bad to me," said Duval, who shot 75 at Pinehurst No. 2. "I enter the final day three shots off the lead with not a whole lot of people in the way.

"I certainly would have preferred not to hit some of the bad shots I hit. My strategy and gameplan was flawless. I just failed to execute."

Duval began the third round in a tie for the lead with Payne Stewart and Phil Mickelson.

But he immediately encountered trouble, making a bogey at the third hole and a double-bogey at the fifth. When he added two more bogeys at the sixth and eighth holes, he was on his way to a front-nine 40, and had dropped five shots behind the leader at the time, Mickelson.

As difficult as Pinehurst was playing, it would have been easy to become frustrated. Many did on a day that yielded few birdies.

"I was never panicked about what was going on out there," Duval said. "As you can see by every player in the field, especially those on top, it's very easy to make a 5 or a 6. So there's no reason to panic.

"Even after I went 5-over for the day after eight holes, I figured that if I could par in, the worst case I was going to be three behind. I knew everybody was going to struggle. I just happened to be early. I just tried to focus on keep making pars."

Duval did, parring the last 10 holes to shoot 75. Only three rounds this year have been higher. He failed to make a birdie, yet he finds himself just three shots behind Stewart. Only four players are ahead of him on the leaderboard.

"I'm not going to be looking for the guy who played well (Saturday), but the guy who hung on and stayed close," said three-time major championship winner Nick Price. "Invariably, the guy who guts it out is the one who will win."

Could that be Duval? He's already overcome his share of adversity this week, managing to be in contention despite suffering second-degree burns to his thumb and forefinger just a week ago. That limited his preparation time and allowed for just one practice round. But here's Duval, just three shots out of the lead.

For a player who has won four times this year and earned more than $2.8 million, who is the world's No. 1-ranked player and won 11 times in less than three years, the deficit doesn't seem that difficult at all.

"I look forward to (Sunday). Everybody is going to back up some more," Duval said. "The guy who backs up the smallest amount is going to win. I think it serves me well here. I'm pretty close to sitting on the winning score, I think. What do you think?"

It's hard to argue with Duval.

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.