David Duval has blistered his share of golf courses since joining the PGA Tour in 1994, but it seems that all anybody is asking him about these days are the blisters on his hand.

Duval picked up a hot teapot last Friday and sustained second-degree burns on his right thumb and forefinger. All he could do Monday at Pinehurst No. 2 was walk the course and do a little chipping.

One day later, after slicing the blisters open for quicker healing, Duval played a full practice round and said he anticipates no problems when he tees it up in the U.S. Open Thursday.

"I played this morning and didn’t really have any problems with it," Duval said Tuesday. "It’s probably valid to ask me tomorrow, although I might not want to answer anymore. Seems like it’s all I’ve been talking about."

The media’s focus on the burns may have deflected the other question Duval is always having put before him: When are you going to win a major?

He’s won 11 PGA Tour events, including four by the first week in April this year. His best showing, however, was a tie in the 1998 Masters.

Duval isn’t discounting his chances this week, partly because he’s liked what he’s seen of the course.

"I think it suits me well," he said. "It’s nice to have it present new challenges as opposed to what we’re typically used to. I think it’s going to demand the players to think a lot more and be very, very precise with their approach shots to the greens."

A final round 69 last year at the Olympic Club enabled him to climb into a tie for seventh, but he was still seven shots off Lee Janzen’s even-par winning score in last year’s Championship. Before that, he hadn’t placed in the top 25.

"Say I win here at Pinehurst. All right, I’ve won a major, and now I don’t have to worry about them anymore. That’s not how I think of it. It’s something that’s going to be a challenge for the next 15, 20 years."