Duval can make the transition with ease

If history is anything to go by, and in David Duval's case it should be, then the new British Open champion - who has moved back to number three in the official world rankings - is likely to use his first major success as a stepping stone to further championship wins.

As is typical of the modern era, with players crossing time zones with fashionable ease, Duval arrived in Canada yesterday for a two-day corporate commitment in the knowledge he had finally thrown a monkey off his back by winning a major. And also in the knowledge that past experiences should help him move on and add some more majors to his already impressive curriculum vitae.

Duval had five second-place finishes, four thirds and 15 top-10s on the US Tour before finally securing his breakthrough victory in the Michelob Championship in 1997. But after that first tour success he went on to win the next three tournaments he played in, and the 29-year-old's victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes was actually his 13th win on the tour.

In fact, there was a time, in 1999, when Duval was the world number one - ending Tiger Woods' 41 consecutive weeks of dominance, although Tiger has since taken another stranglehold on that particular ranking list - and he was also the first player on the US Tour to earn $2 million in a season. His win in Lytham brought him over that mark again, for a fourth successive year, while ending a nine-month spell since he had last managed a win, in the Buick Challenge last October.

So, if Duval - who misses this week's John Deere Classic on the US Tour and won't return to competitive golf until the International tournament next week - were to follow a similar trend as the one that followed his breakthrough tour win through to his next major, victory in the US PGA at Atlanta next month is within his capabilities.

"If anything, I would imagine this win will intensify my drive, the desire to do it again, but winning doesn't make it any easier - it might psychologically, but it doesn't make it physically easier."

What was interesting about Duval's breakthrough was it came after he changed his entire approach in the week leading up to a major.

Prior to the US Open in Tulsa, he didn't play any tournaments for three weeks and spent that time incessantly on the practice range. "I hit balls for three weeks, played the US Open, played well and didn't make anything.

"So, I went home and had two weeks off before this golf tournament and I left town and did not hit a golf ball. I went fishing, mountain biking, riding, working out," said Duval. He didn't hit a golf ball until the Saturday, a day before flying out to play in Lytham, and the low-key approach certainly paid dividends as he showed the coolness of a snowman coming down the stretch on Sunday.

His victory also continued an amazing sequence of American winners of the British Open, which probably gives the lie to the suggestion that Ryder Cup matches on this side of the Atlantic should be played on links courses in order to boost the chances of a home success. Duval's win was the sixth by a player from the United States in seven years - following on from the wins enjoyed by John Daly (St Andrews, 1995), Tom Lehman (Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1996), Justin Leonard (Royal Troon, 1997), Mark O'Meara (Royal Birkdale, 1998) and Tiger Woods (St Andrews, 2000). The only European player who managed to break the trend was Paul Lawrie, winner at Carnoustie in 1999.

Incidentally, Lawrie has now lost all of his world ranking points from the British Open win and has fallen from 66th place down to 105th in the latest list.

For Duval, though, the win ensured he is once again on a upward trend. The question marks that hung over his ability to win when the heat was really on have been removed. Now, there is the intriguing possibility Duval can go on and carry out the expectations that accompanied his rise to the number one status in 1999 and emerge as a genuine challenger again to Woods for the top spot.