DALY’S DROUGHT FINALLY OVER

JOHN DALY (right) ended a 13year drought when he posted his first victory on the 50-andover Champions Tour yesterday, a one-stroke triumph at the Insperity Invitational in Texas. Cutting an unmistakable figure in red, white and blue American flag pants, Daly tapped in his winning putt from one inch to finish at 14-under-par 202 at The Woodlands outside Houston. “It’s awesome,” Daly told Golf Channel after being doused in champagne on the 18th green. “Hey, a win’s a win. I hung in there and did the best I could. It wasn’t pretty at the end but I got it done. That’s all that matters.” Daly, nicknamed ‘Wild Thing’ by the British tabloids back in the 1990s due to his hard-partying lifestyle, won five times on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 1991 PGA and 1995 British Open. Daly was the longest hitter on tour for the first part of his career, in an era before metal-headed drivers became commonplace. Now 51, he became eligible for the Champions Tour last April. He had not won on the PGA Tour since 2004, losing a playoff to Tiger Woods at the 2005 WGCAmerican Express Championship. played at Club de Golf Mexico. “I never had such a hard win like today. I am happy that I was able to win and hold this trophy.” Ariya, who captured the first of her five LPGA titles exactly a year ago, had defeated American Michelle Wie 4 and 3 in the morning semifinals while Kim downed 25th-ranked compatriot Hur Mi-Jung 5 and 4. Hur outlasted Wie in 22 holes in the third-place match.