John Daly (golfer)

John Patrick Daly (born April 28, 1966) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour."My Life in and out of the Rough : The Truth Behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know About Me" ISBN 0-06-112062-6]

Daly is known primarily for his "zero to hero" victory in the 1991 PGA Championship, his driving distance off the tee (earning him the nickname "Long John"), his non-country club appearance and attitude, and his rough-and-tumble personal life. Daly remains one of the most popular and intriguing figures on the Tour, despite his recent lack of success.

Biography

Daly was born in Carmichael, California. His family moved from California to Dardanelle, Arkansas when he was five, and he began playing golf the following year.

Education

Daly attended Helias High School in Jefferson City, Missouri, and was a letterman in football and golf. In golf, he was a Missouri state champion. Daly attended the University of Arkansas, where he was a member of the golf team.

Golf career

Daly turned professional in 1987, and won the Ben Hogan Utah Classic in 1990.

He joined the PGA Tour in 1991 and won the PGA Championship that year. This victory gained Daly a significant amount of media attention due to the fact that Daly was the ninth and final alternate for the Championship. He entered the competition when Nick Price dropped out and no other alternate could make it. He parlayed this opportunity into a first round score of 69, without a practice round. He finished the tournament with scores of 69-67-69-71, giving him a three-stroke victory over Bruce Lietzke. Daly was subsequently named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He was also the first rookie to win a major title since Jerry Pate won the U.S. Open in 1976.

He won the B.C. Open in 1992 and the BellSouth Classic in 1994. In 1995, he unexpectedly won the British Open in a playoff with Italian Costantino Rocca at St. Andrews. Daly is the only eligible two-time major winner never selected to play in the Ryder Cup.

2007 Exempt Status

John Daly entered the 2007 PGA Tour season without full exempt status for the first time since his 1991 PGA Championship victory, which carried a 10-year PGA Tour exemption. Another such exemption was earned with his 1995 British Open win. When Daly won the 2004 Buick Invitational, he earned a 2-year exemption, which expired at the end of 2006. Daly finished 193rd on the [http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/2006/109.html 2006 PGA Tour Official Money List] , thereby losing his full exempt status for 2007.

As he is not among the Top 50 on the [http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/current/110.html PGA Tour's All-Time Career Money List] , Daly must now depend heavily on Sponsor Invitations [http://www.pgatour.com/players/pgatour-exempt/ (PGA Tour Exemption Category 11)] . Some 2007 PGA Tour events have already extended such invitations. Outside of sponsor invitations, Daly can also play in most 2007 regular events via [http://www.pgatour.com/players/pgatour-exempt/ Exemption Category 30] , "Past Champions, Team Tournament Winners and Veteran Members beyond the Top 150 Leaders on the [http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/2006/109.html 2006 PGA Tour Official Money List] ".

As far as individual tournaments are concerned, Daly is exempt for life in the PGA Championship and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, up to age 65 in the British Open and up through 2009 in the Buick Invitational. In order to play in the Masters, U.S. Open, a World Golf Championship or a FedEx Cup Playoff Event, Daly would have to satisfy the particular invitational requirements of such events.

Most fans and golf columnists will readily point to the 2005 WGC-American Express Championship as the event where John Daly's current post-2006 exempt status would be determined. Tied with Tiger Woods at the end of regulation play, Daly missed a short par putt on the 2nd extra playoff hole, giving Woods the victory. Had Daly instead made the par, and then had gone on to win, he would have earned a 3-year PGA Tour exemption through 2008. [ [http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=golf-m/scores/archive_05/wgc-recap.htm Woods wins as Daly misses short one] , "SportsNetwork.com" October 9, 2005.]

Daly was invited to play in the Honda Classic on March 1, 2007 on a sponsor's exemption, but had to withdraw after two holes. Daly pulled a muscle near his shoulder blade when he tried to stop his backswing after a fan snapped a picture. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2784554 Daly withdraws from Honda Classic with injury] , "ESPN.com" March 1, 2007.]

Golf style

Daly's golf swing is easily recognized, as he sends the club way "past parallel" to the ground on his backswing, thereby generating tremendous power. Daly is a consistent challenger for the Driving Distance crown and has won that title a record-setting 11 times as of 2004, 8 of which were consecutive. His lifetime average for distance off the tee is 309.4 yards, and his single-season personal best is an average of 314.3 yards, which he attained in 2003. Single drives in excess of 350 yards are not uncommon, and Daly can reach very long par 5 holes in two strokes where no one else can. Daly claimed on The Howard Stern Show to have done an 806 yard drive on the LA airport runway. He is also known for having soft hands and a deft touch in his short game around the greens.

Daly is sponsored by Maxfli Golf (Taylor Made-Adidas Golf), John Daly's Golf Shops, Dunlop Golf (Focus Golf Systems), Hooters restaurants, Winn Grips, and 84 Lumber.

Off-course life

Daly does not fly to tournament sites (except the British Open), but instead travels in a personal recreational vehicle. Daly's career has been interrupted from time to time by off-course personal incidents: He recorded an autobiographical album titled "My Life", featuring guest performances by Darius Rucker, Willie Nelson, Johnny Lee, and Daron Norwood. He contributed background vocals for the 'Half Your Age' track on the 2007 Kid Rock album entitled 'Rock And Roll Jesus'.

Alcoholism

Daly once claimed that he drank a fifth of Jack Daniel's every day during the year he was 23 years of age, and the various reported incidents include being removed from a British Airways airplane by airport security for harassing a flight attendant while drunk. He has entered into various alcohol addiction programs, including the Betty Ford Clinic, at least three times, and has experienced three divorces since becoming a professional golfer.

In May 1993, he was upset by his opening round at the Kemper Open, threw his scoring card in the scoring tent, walked off, and was disqualified. In late 1993, Daly was given an indefinite suspension for 1994 after quitting in the middle of the Kapalua International and told to seek treatment for his alcoholism. He was at first suspended for the first 12 tournaments of the 1994 season, but he came a few weeks earlier than expected and played in the Honda Classic, finishing fourth. These incidents resulted in a stretch between 1996 and 2001 without a professional victory. During this stretch, Daly was especially known for having spectacular blow-up holes near the end of rounds such as knocking multiple balls into water or out-of-bounds for a double-digit score or hitting a ball while it was still moving and then walking off the course. During the 1998 Greater Vancouver Open, Daly was visibly shaking as he tried to play, causing the television announcers to audibly wince at the sight. Daly's fourth wife Sherrie pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and was sentenced to a five month prison term.

Over the past several years, Daly has gotten his alcohol problem under control and, after winning a few minor tournaments, broke his long PGA Tour drought on February 15, 2004, by winning the Buick Invitational. He clinched his victory on the first hole of a three-way playoff by hitting a long, difficult greenside bunker shot to within inches of the hole. Daly went on to have some of his most consistent play ever in 2004 and 2005.

In March 2008, Daly's swing coach Butch Harmon quit, saying that "the most important thing in [Daly's] life is getting drunk." [Citation |last= |first= |title=Harmon dumps Daly over 'shenanigans' |url=http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/7900512?MSNHPHMA |publisher="FOX Sports" |date=2008-03-12 |accessdate=2007-03-12]

Gambling

In 2006, Daly revealed in the last chapter of his autobiography that he has had great difficulty with a gambling problem. He claims to have lost between $50 and $60 million dollars(US) over the past 15 years. This includes losing $1.5 million in October 2005, after winning half that amount at the WGC-American Express tournament, most of it lost on $5,000 Las Vegas slot machines. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/4964644.stm Daly admits huge gambling losses] BBC News, 2 May 2006] Daly has been able to pay his gambling debts mostly through making more paid public appearances and through sponsorships opportunities.

Drugs and the PGA

In July 1994, Daly claimed that many PGA golfers were cocaine users, and said that if drug testing was done on tour, he would be "one of the cleanest guys out there" which brought an uproar among the golfing community. Daly voluntarily missed the remainder of the 1994 season citing physical and mental exhaustion.

Health

Despite prodigious consumption of cigarettes and Diet Coke, Daly has never conquered his weight problem; he refused to partake in the British Open Champions Dinner because "You can't get this fat boy into a suit." He has admitted the only reason he does not lift weights is because the health club does not let him smoke there and he would get sick after he worked out.

Marriages

In December 1992, Daly was charged with third-degree assault for throwing his second wife Bettye into a wall; although the actual circumstances of the incident, by all current accounts, indicate the charges were overstated and Bettye did not want them pressed. Daly has said in his autobiography that he did not, nor has he ever, hit or hurt a woman. He apologized for the incident, which has now been characterized more as "shoving" than "throwing", and entered an alcohol rehabilitation center and took time off from golf tournaments in early 1993.

On June 8, 2007, Daly and his wife Sherrie got into a fight at a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, site of that week's tour stop, the Stanford St. Jude Championship. Daly claims that later that night his wife attacked him with a steak knife. He showed up for his 2nd round on Friday afternoon with cuts and scrapes across his face. [http://sports.aol.com/golf/story/_a/were-all-guilty-of-playing-enabler-role/20070612132009990001] Authorities were contacted by him and came to his house, but his wife had already fled the scene and taken their children with her. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/6736467.stm "My wife tried to stab me - Daly" BBCNews, 8 June 2007] ] Daly's other ex wife, Paulette Dean Daly, has now been linked to Baseball star Roger Clemens in an alleged affair during Roger's marriage.

Charity works

Daly is known for his involvement in many charities including several in northwest Arkansas. He has donated money to his high school, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Daly is also an active supporter of the sports programs at the University of Arkansas. He shaved his signature "mullet", and donated the proceeds from the event to various charities.

Quotes

*"I know there's a lot of guys who would love to see me fail. Well, good. Let 'em. I'm glad."
*"There are probably some things I could do to keep my flexibility up, but I'd rather smoke, drink Diet Cokes and eat."
*"Seems I used to do everything like I was on a mission. If it was alcohol, I wanted to drink till I couldn't see straight. If it was golf, I wanted to beat everybody's brains out. If it was driving, I can get there faster'n you can... I was stubborn as hell. I had no direction."
*"Nobody can know what's in my heart. Nobody can know what I'm thinking. I know what I've got to do." [" [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1602390142/ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations] ", ed. Jim Apfelbaum. 2007.]
*"I believe nicotine plus caffeine equals protein."
*“My life is upside-down right now,” Daly said. “No matter what I do, it’s wrong. I’m thinking of writing a new song. I’ll call it, ‘I guess it’s my fault, even when it’s not my fault.”’
*"Some folks say I don't deserve such a beautiful wife. But hey, I earn money. Surely that is a reason!"

Professional wins (18)

PGA Tour wins (5)

*1991 PGA Championship
*1992 B.C. Open
*1994 BellSouth Classic
*1995 British Open
*2004 Buick Invitational

Major championships shown in bold.

Other wins (14)

*1987 Missouri Open
*1990 Ben Hogan Utah Classic (Ben Hogan Tour), AECI Charity Classic (South Africa), Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic (South Africa)
*1993 Alfred Dunhill Cup (team event with Fred Couples and Payne Stewart)
*1999 JCPenney Classic (with Laura Davies)
*2001 BMW International Open (European Tour)
*2002 Champions Challenge (with Pat Perez), Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Rich Beem and Jim Furyk)
*2003 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational
*2003 Kolon Korean Open (Asian Tour), Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Mark Calcavecchia and Peter Jacobsen)
*2006 TELUS Skins Game
*2007 TELUS Skins Game

Major Championships

Wins (2)

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

United States national team appearances

*Dunhill Cup: 1993 (winners), 1998, 2000

ee also

*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/12/49/ Profile on PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.johndaly.com/ Official site of John Daly]
* [http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/players/bio.sps?ID=863 Results in ranking events for the last two years from the Official Golf Ranking site]
* [http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/2245/John_Daly/index.aspx?WT.mc_id=WJohDaly John Daly book excerpt] (Official publisher web page)
* [http://www.johndalysdiscountgolf.com/ John Daly's Discount Golf Shops]
* [http://johndalyfanclub.smfforfree3.com/ Unofficial John Daly Fan Club]
*youtube|q6HXfA__e14|Interview while shirtless and shoeless and playing a round of golf

"Adapted from the article [http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.phtml?title=John_Daly John Daly] , from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License."