Back in June, I did a post about what separates the best from the rest, a look at what elevates tour pros above scratch (or better) players.

With that always in the back of my mind, I was recently reading Johnny Miller’s book, I Call the Shots while I’ve been recuperating from surgery.

There’s a chapter in there about players that could give Tiger Woods a run for his money. The book was published in 2004 with most of the information current thorough 2003, but one of the players mentioned was David Duval.

It mentions his decline after winning the British Open in 2001, but I think Miller and most everyone else figured he’d eventually turn it around.

That had me thinking: what can cause such a radical decline for a player of that caliber?

Duval was the number one player in the world in 1999. He shot a 59 in competition. He won a major. He had several other top 10 finishes in majors. He won 13 events on Tour.

This year, he made $71,945, ranking him 220th on the PGA Tour, and who knows where in the World Golf Rankings. The only thing keeping him around is his name and his history.

It’s almost inconceivable to me that a player like him could decline so dramatically. He’s not alone, though.

We forget, because he’s doing a nice job in the broadcast booth these days, but Ian Baker-Finch experienced a dramatic collapse that started in 1995.

It was like he woke up and forgot how to play at that level. It culminated with a 92 in the opening round of the 1997 British Open. He withdrew from the tournament and retired from tournament golf.

And let’s not forget that it happened to Johnny Miller, also. Late in his career he had a bad case of the putting yips (the yips are a mental/neurological affliction that causes a player to uncontrollably jitter, causing missed putts - even short ones).

These players were in their 30’s when they started their declines. Each of them should have had years more good golf in them, and in Duval’s case, he should still be in his prime.

Being so competitive myself, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose it like that.

These guys don’t rise to that level without having the mental and physical makeup to succeed. We’re not talking about slow erosion as age takes it’s toll. We’re talking about career time bombs.

So what causes it? There are theories about the decline of each of those players and others who had big declines, but I don’t know if any of them fully explains each situation.

Cases like these leave me simultaneously fascinated and saddened. It’s hard to believe that such a difficult climb could end with such a dramatic fall.

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