John’s Daly: It’s Time For PGA Tour To Intervene

October 30, 2008

John Daly

The most unique moment I’ve ever seen in a golf tournament wasn’t a monster Tiger Woods’ shot or a missed short putt prohibiting a win. The most unique thing I’ve ever seen was also viewed by millions of others on national television, and it was something you may not want to see again. I know I don’t. It occurred 11 years ago at the now-defunct Greater Vancouver Open. With network cameras rolling, John Daly was in the midst of the DTs.

That’s the more commonly used term for delirium tremens. There was Daly on a warm day, dressed in several layers, but dramatically shaking. He had the condition that occurs from alcohol withdrawal following binge drinking. The TV guys didn’t know what to say.

A lot has happened in Daly’s life since. Various attempts at sobriety. Divorces. Accusations of domestic violence. Gambling problems. Two more children. Mysterious scratches on his face. Court dates. A bunch of tournament withdrawals.

And last Sunday, he was taken off to jail and after an occasion public drunkenness, this time outside of Hooters’ restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Oh, Daly still has game — at least five years ago when had a $2 million official earnings season in 2004 and a victory in the Buick Open. In the same year, he aslo has a couple of unofficial tournament wins in South Korea and on the Monterey Peninsula.

But fast-forward to earlier last March and there was Daly, no longer an exempt player on the PGA Tour, undergoing another episode related to drinking.

As you may recall, Butch Harmon, the famed instructor, had been working with Daly in an attempt to help the former British Open and PGA Championship winner - just like he’s done with many others.

But Harmon told the media at the PODS Championship he ended the relationship because he felt Daly was more interested in drinking than playing golf.

In the tournament, Daly spent a first-round rain delay drinking in a sponsor’s hospitality tent. And then when he missed the cut, he spent the rest of Saturday drinking in a sponsor’s tent with fans. He subsequently missed a pro-am tee time at the Bay Hill Classic and was disqualified.

The came word that Daly received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Buick Open in June - the site of his last official win.

The tournament’s marketing director, one corporate genius named Larry Peck, commented, “He’s a huge fan draw.”

That’s certainly true. Daly’s is a “working stiff’s” hero. He’s The Everyman. He hits 350-yard drives, sometimes straight down the fairway. He drinks to excess. He chain smokes. He’s a good 100 pounds overweight. A national lumberyard chain once sponsored him, and he’s currently sponsored by a national restaurant/bar in which more is better - food, booze and cleavage. What’s not to like?

Daly’s life is a mess, and it continues to spiral at a time when the PGA Tour is discussing drug testing and players are talking about individual rights and a players’ union.

And here’s the Buick Open giving John Daly a sponsor’s exemption because he’s a huge fan attraction.

What’s wrong, here? Nothing. The PGA Tour thrives on corporate sponsorship. The Buick Open, like other events, has sponsors’ exemptions, and it has invited Daly.

It’s all very smooth. Let’s see that nice highlight television clip. There’s the Buick corporate guy talking on camera with a CBS guy, mostly in an exchange of superlatives. There’s a Buick perched on water in the background of a picturesque hole.

Oh, and there’s John Daly shaking uncontrollably. You da man, John. You da man, Larry Peck, marketing guy. You da man, CBS. You da man, PGA Tour. What a joke.

Posted in Global Golf News, Golf Tournaments, Golf Tribune Columns (By James Raia), PGA Tour