John Daly has been golf's version of Lindsay Lohan. He's been a mess, then pulled himself together for a short amount of time, only to disappoint the golfing public and his fans again with antics best reserved for an adolescent. He's won two major championships, won the 2004 Buick Open and finished runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 2005 American Express Championship, so the talent's there. And this time, this time, it seems like we might be able to believe Big John when he says he's ready.Daly's return to the PGA Tour on Thursday at the St. Jude Championship is one of reserved excitement. He has shed nearly 50 pounds. He seems downright happy if you follow the man on his always entertaining Twitter page. He played good golf over on the European Tour during his PGA suspension, finishing t-2 at the BMW Italian Open in early May.
While Phil Mickelson will be making a triumphant return to the PGA Tour with nothing but positive vibes coming from the other players, Daly will be, once again, a huge draw for a rather run-of-the-mill tournament. In 2008 Daly shot a second round 81 at TPC Southwind to miss the cut by a million. In '07 he made the cut at this tournament, but went on to fire weekend rounds of 75-79 to finish one spot above dead last of players that made the weekend. In '07, he withdrew from the St. Jude after an opening 77.
If you wanted scenarios to define Daly, those are perfect. Sometimes he can go out and play with the big boys, but other times he'll blow up or just decide to leave the golf course when things are headed south. At least, that is what we were used to with Daly. Things may be different now.
At 12:54 local time on Thursday, Daly will be taking his club a little past parallel for the first time on the PGA Tour this year, teeing it up with Tim Herron and Tim Clark. There aren't a lot more chances out there for a guy like Daly. Hopefully when Sunday rolls around, we can all agree that the man once known for beating up hotel rooms and passing out at Hooters has really come to his senses.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
What Should We Expect From John Daly? We? What, do you have a mouse in your pocket? I haven't expected anything out of John Daly since I expected something out of David Duval..Given that it is AOL Sports, does Bacon even know what golf is?
The answer is we can't expect much decency from Daly off the course. But, he can be a great golfer on the course.
Interestingly, he has always flourished under no expectations. Perhaps that the recipe for success in the coming months.
Check out this debate about John Daly, and whether or not fans should root for him. http://www.thesportsdebates.com
wheather or not daly plays well or not. i hope he does. it has been nice to not have to hear only about (Ghandi) oh sorry Eldrick just in case he forgot or is embarresed of his own name. we need to realize that there are more players than Dickdrick out there.