David Duval’s small miracle: five-under at St. Andrews

David Duval’s iconic blade sunglasses are so far out of style that they’re coming back around.

So if you squint just the right way, ignoring the lines in the face and the gray in the goatee, you could almost believe that the dominant 2001-era Duval, the onetime No.

1 player in the world and British Open champion, had come back for one more go at St.

So the fact that Duval could come out and shoot a 5-under round at the British Open ranks as a small miracle.

He’d stood on the tee at even par, the Road Hole and the R&A Clubhouse looming ahead of him, knowing that all he had to do was par the last two holes and he’d make his first cut in a British Open since 2008, his first cut in any major since the 2010 U.S.

Duval’s game has gone so far off target it’s invisible, but every so often, it arcs back to where it ought to be.

Afterward, Duval’s caddy, Ron “Bambi” Levin, choked up talking about Duval’s struggles and triumph.

Moving from the fairway to the announcing booth gave Duval a new perspective on the game, and it was an enlightening one.

“When you’re not playing well and you’re struggling, you feel like everybody else is hitting it beautiful and perfect all the time,” Duval said.

A strong performance on Sunday could put Duval back on the radar for tournament and sponsor exemptions, the kind not usually available for a player ranked around 1,300 in the world.