John Daly only made it through 17 holes at last week's French Open, before withdrawing with a bad back. He'll try to tee it up at the Scottish Open on Thursday before making his way to Turnberry for the Open Championship. Despite an off-season makeover that included lap-band surgery, a shiny new wardrobe, and a recommitment to the game, expectations are low for Daly. Success has been sporadic, and his 2009 European Tour experience hasn't been much different than 2008, one of his worst years as a professional.
But onward he trudges. And the week after the British Open, Daly will play the Canadian Open, if they will give him an exemption. Tournament director Bill Paul says a decision will be made this week, but in the interim, the Globe and Mail's Lorne Rubenstein writes that, "...[A]ny tournament trying to decide whether to issue Daly a sponsor's exemption faces a problem. So many bizarre things happen to him, many self-inflicted, that it's a crapshoot as to whether his presence will embarrass or enhance the event." And Rubenstein points to the French Open as the most recent example.
The argument -- that Daly may not have been injured, just embarrassed about being eight-over par at the time -- doesn't really work; JD's never been afraid to fire a round in the 80s, even when he was playing more consistently.
The bigger concern -- and Rubenstein addresses this, too -- is all the outside-the-ropes silliness that lands Daly in the news and sometimes the slammer.
But all the incidents Rubenstein mentions were prior to this year. That's not to say that Daly won't have a Hooters relapse, but tournament directors know this. They also know that after Tiger and Phil, Big John is the most popular guy in the sport. And the increase in ticket sales more than offsets the potential embarrassments Daly might bring to an event.
And as soon as that stops being the case, JD will stop receiving sponsor's exemptions. Capitalism is efficient like that.
