{image1} If you didn't know any better watching CBS' coverage of John Daly last Sunday at Torrey Pines, you could have sworn that he had done something truly heroic in life.
You know, something like beat cancer. Or come back from a debilitating injury to win again, a la Hogan.
Why the way Jim Nantz and crew gushed and fawned and purred over "this great story of John Daly" as the saying goes, it might just have been enough to gloss over what is one of the most disgraceful careers in the history of the PGA Tour.
You heard me. Disgraceful.
Why John Daly gets such a universal pass from both the mainstream media, and the golf media is beyond my comprehension. In fact, so widespread is this tacit acceptance of "well, that's just Big John being Big John" mentality, I bet this column you are reading now is one of just a handful anywhere willing to cut through the violins for the truth.
John Daly is an embarrassment to himself, and the game of golf.
He has a long and consistent pattern quitting when the going gets tough (see, "Open, U.S."). He has DQ'd himself from tournaments intentionally about a dozen times in his career by storming off without signing his scorecard.
This used to be a "Holy Commandment" of the professional game. Always play hard. And always sign your card. These tantrums from Daly usually come on the heels of a "who gives a damn" round well into the '80s. Most pros are mortified if they hang a number that starts with a "snowman" on the PGA Tour. That's why they'll grind it out for a 79 if necessary.
It's called being a pro. Plain and simple. Something Daly mocks every time he launches six balls into the water trying to reach a par-5 and takes an 18. Kinda like he did at Bay Hill.
Somebody sent me a condensed "rap sheet" on Daly's career as compiled by the Associated Press. I would include it here, but I am not lying when I say that it runs three full pages single spaced. I even read it in bullet-point fashion on my radio show, and I had to carry it over to a second segment to get all the way through to 2003.
But here, here's a few tasty nuggets.
June, 1992 - Forced off New York bound plane in Denver after confrontation with flight attendant while drunk.
December, 1992 - Charged with third degree assault of then wife Bettye. Plead down to simple harassment in March of 1993. Divorce papers were in his hands at the driving range at Augusta in April.
November, 1993 - Picks up during second round of Kapalua following three doubles in four holes. Then commish Dean Beaman issues three month suspension.
July, 1994 - While at Scottish Open, Daly makes unfounded accusations to the media of drug use on tour. Daly! He claims other guys are on drugs! Wonderful.
August, 1994 - Impatiently bombs a drive into the green of a short par four at the World Series of Golf, while group ahead was still putting. After the round he gets into parking lot scuffle with the 62 year old father of one of the players he hit into.
September 1994 - PGA Tour announces Daly to sit out rest of the year. In effect, his second suspension in just two years. Pretty good work considering the PGA Tour has almost never been forced to suspend anybody! Most guys who make it on tour, are so drop-to-their-knees thankful to simply be there, they walk around more carefully than you do in your grandmother's living room.
October, 1996 - Admits that he's been drinking again, but claims it is only "social drinking." He even said "I don't drink anymore ... just beer."
March, 1997 - Drinks himself into a rage at the Players Championship following a first round 76. If not for good friend Fuzzy Zoeller who found him passed out in his hotel room, he might well have died.
April, 1997 - Both second wife Paulette, and sponsor Wilson Sporting Goods, file for divorce.
June, 1997 - Walks off after nine holes at US Open at Congressional. Fails to tell playing partners, or USGA officials he was bolting.
June, 1999 - Swats at moving ball during final round of the US Open at Pinehurst out of frustration. Takes an 11 on the hole. Proclaims: "This is my last U.S. Open ... ever. I've had it with the USGA and the way they run their tournaments."
June, 2000 - Not heeding his own pledge, arrives at the US Open at Pebble Beach and shoots opening round 83 before (you guessed it!) withdrawing. Round included the childish display of splashing three shots into the Pacific on #18 along with one out of bounds for a tidy little 14.
I could go on and on, but what does it matter? Apparently all of this past history doesn't merit even a hint of balance in how the press treats Daly now.
The common refrain you hear on TV, is that Daly has "been through a lot in life." This is such an antiseptic way of putting it. As if Daly was just walking down life's avenue, and all these things merely "happened" to him. Please.
John Daly is the architect and general contractor of the destructive life he has led. Period. It may not be ALL his fault, but most of it is! Even now that his current wife and mother-in-law are facing federal charges on running a drug and gambling ring, you can chalk that up to "just Big John, being Big John."
You meet a woman at a golf tournament, and get married two months later. And when the feds show up you say, "Gee, I never saw this coming?" In two months of knowing somebody? Of course not!
But leaving aside the "C.O.P.S." meets "Beverly Hillbillies" life Daly leads roaming the countryside in his million dollar RV looking for a tournament to shoot 84 and withdraw from, let's cut to the chase on why he's the last guy you want to admire in golf.
He is the poster child for squandered talent.
Generally, sports fans scorn athletes who squander their talent. Look at Darryl Strawberry. Nobody looked at him as a "loveable coke-head" as they do now with Daly "the loveable drunk." Instead, every sentence involving Strawberry either begins or ends with "what a waste."
And that's what the golf media should be saying about Daly. "What a waste." After all, here's a guy with enough talent to win two majors, and yet he could end up losing his tour card in a few years if he doesn't win another major.
In an era where players are working out harder and more seriously than ever off the course to be in shape, Daly has it pedal-to-the-metal in the opposite direction. You can't just call him "fat" or "lumpy." He's 295 pound canned ham - that fell out of the can!
Somehow, though, the "common man" angle keeps playing to the masses. He was cheered wildly last weekend outside the ropes, while being stroked like a baby kitten by the CBS boys on TV. No doubt, those who want to love Daly for any reason, are predicting a resurgence in his game.
If history is any guide however, the only thing to safely predict is more trouble, a slew of WD's when he's not playing well, and probably at least one more marriage (#5). Personally, I would much rather root for a guy who is a much better player, a humble family man, and dedicated to making his game great with hour and hours of time on the range.
His name is Vijay Singh, yet somehow the "buzz" about Vijay is that he's "a jerk."
OK, whatever. Hey Joe Public. Run to the first tee. The Amazing Golf Ball Whacker Guy is on the tee. Whoooooooooo!
Steve is a native Washingtonian and has worked in sports talk radio for the last 11 years. He worked at WTEM in 1993 anchoring Team Tickers before he took a full time job with national radio network One-on-One Sports.
A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Steve has worked for WFNZ in Charlotte where his afternoon show was named "Best Radio Show." Steve continues to serve as a sports personality for WLZR in Milwaukee and does fill-in hosting for Fox Sports Radio.
