LYTHAM, ST. ANNES, England, 1:45 p.m. EDT July 22, 2001 -- Years of frustration, injury and personal tragedy for the man dubbed the competition for Tiger Woods were washed into the Irish Sea on Sunday when David Duval won his first major tournament, taking home a three-shot victory in the 130th British Open.

Duval, who entered the weekend at even par, finished with a 65 Saturday and a 67 Sunday for a four-round total of 10-under, three shots better than Niclas Fasth and four up on a six-man pack that tied for third at 6-under.

"It's very surreal," Duval told ABC Sports after the 72nd hole. "I never knew where I stood all day. I thought I was leading, but I didn't know for sure until I hit the green at (No.) 18, and when I saw I was up by three (shots), it was overwhelming."

Duval entered the day in a four-way tie for the lead at 6-under. However, that changed quickly when co-leader Ian Woosnam was penalized on the first hole for carrying an extra club in his bag. His two-stroke penalty turned a birdie into a bogey at No. 1 and washed away a short-lived one-stroke lead, effectively knocking the former Masters champ out of the running for his homeland's Open championship.

Duval won for the first time this year, and became the sixth American in the past seven years to claim golf's oldest championship.

The 29-year-old from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has battled years of nagging back injuries and lost his brother to a rare childhood blood disease, but finally winning his first major could help vault Duval to the promise many predicted for him when he began playing on the PGA Tour in 1993. Caressing the claret jug on Sunday, Duval scanned the names on the trophy and found his right below defending champ Tiger Woods.

"When you beat him and the other players on that board, you could look at maybe as how the players felt beating Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson," he said. "They know they've beaten the best player. I beat them all this week, and it feels really good. It feels wonderful."

Meanwhile, another major championship passed without Woods in serious contention.

Like so many others, Woods couldn't make enough birdies on a firm, fast links course littered with pot bunkers. He took triple bogey on the par-3 No. 12 and wound up nine strokes behind in a tie for 25th, his worst finish in a major in nearly four years.

Top 12 Finishers
1. David Duval, USA -10
2. Niclas Fasth, Sweden -7
T3. Ernie Els, S. Africa -6
T3. Darren Clarke, N. Ireland -6
T3. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain -6
T3. Billy Mayfair, USA -6
T3. Ian Woosnam, Wales -6
T3. Bernhard Langer, Germany -6
T9. Mikko Ilonen, Finland -5
T9. Kevin Sutherland, USA -5
T9. Sergio Garcia, Spain -5
T9. Jesper Parnevik, Sweden -5