Daly to wake up old boys
THERE have been many great achievements in John Daly’s colourful career – winning the 1991 USPGA as ninth reserve and a St Andrews Open among them – but arguably his greatest arrives this week in making his Champions Tour debut. Playing with the old boys means Daly is still alive at 50.
There have been moments along his drink- addled, erratic journey through life when even he doubted that would be the case.
A year after landing that fairy tale fi rst Major at Crooked Stick, he thought seriously about driving over a cliff in his Mercedes. Four marriages and about £ 40million in gambling losses later, he is still here, still swinging and about to apply an electric shock to the sedate world of seniors golf.
Having reached his half- century last week, he starts out at the Insperity Invitational in Texas – an event won last year by Ian Woosnam – on a new career path that will take in the Senior Open at Carnoustie this summer.
“The cool thing for me is I will be playing the British Open before the Senior, so I’ll have that week under my belt, playing kind of two British Opens in a row,” he said.
“I’m still competitive and I still like going to Europe. They love having me and I love being there.
“It has been seven years since I’ve had a good schedule. My game hasn’t been that great but I have been working really hard and hoping I don’t embarrass myself out there.
“I started looking hard at it last year and now I’m going to play as many events as I can. I want to see all the courses that we’re playing. It’s going to be a full- time schedule for me for most of this year.”
It could be quite a ride. He claims his wild days are behind him but he is drinking again. He insists that equates merely to the odd social beer or lemonade, sweet tea and vodka – a concoction known as a ‘ John Daly’ – but the golf authorities will be wary.
This, after all, is the player who was dropped by his coach Butch Harmon in 2008 with the line “the most important thing in his life is getting drunk”, and who was taken into protective custody by police later that year because he was in such a state in a North Carolina bar.
He will, however, have a strong infl uence beside him in the formidable presence of his caddie Anna Cladakis, who will shortly become his fi fth wife. She is also his business partner, assisting Daly during last month’s Masters in his annual merchandise sale from a stall outside Augusta National.
What sort of golf can the greybeards expect from Daly? It will not be quite as intimidating for them as in the past – the king of ‘ grip it and rip it’ has lost some of his prodigious length.
“I’m losing a yard or two every year it seems,” he said.
But with 18st to put behind his shots, he can still carry a three- iron 230 yards.
A character capable of walking off the course during the fi rst round of the 2011 Australian Open having hit all his balls into a water hazard, or venting his frustrations at making 10 on a par- three by hurling a club into Lake Michigan – as Daly did at last year’s USPGA Championship at Whistling Straits – is never going to represent a safe bet for the Champions Tour.
But who would you rather watch – John Daly or Jeff Sluman?