When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, John Paul Newport's look at the return of white belts and shoes, and the resulting attention drawn to the matter by Phil Mickelson's fashion choices, or the fact that John Daly responded to Newport's piece on Twitter:
@jpnewport you will see me sportin white belts & white shoes on tourabout
24 hours ago from web in reply to jpnewport
Garry Smits reports that the two time major champ is making an appearance in St. Augustine for the Murray Brothers' charity before heading to Spain.
He had sued the Florida Times Union over a column by Mike Freeman, reports AP's Ron Word:
Daly had sued in 2005, alleging a column by Freeman written during The Player's Championship that year defamed him.
Freeman's column said: "How does Daly not fail the scoundrel sniff test with fans despite possessing definite Thug Life qualifications. Look at the Daly blog. Domestic violence accusations? Yup. Substance abuse issues? Unfortunately, three different kids from three different moms, making him the Shawn Kemp of golf? Yes. A former wife indicted for laundering illegal drug profits? Roger that."
Carithers wrote in his opinion that the alleged defamatory statements were opinions based upon disclosed facts.
"The only possible basis for a defamation action would be if Daly proved that one of the four underlying facts was false, but there is no genuine dispute with respect to any of the underlying facts," Carithers wrote.
...Doug Ferguson reports on what has to be one of the longest suspensions the PGA Tour has ever handed out. I'm not sure if the crimes (fat, drunk, stupid, angry) are commensurate with the length of the time off, but maybe it'll help him turn his life around. Or just to spend more time in the Middle East come January?
John Hawkins says a year would have been more appropriate.
Jason Sobel reminds us of the various incidents...wow, I forgot about the Kid Rock beer can beauty.
Bob Harig discusses the possible playing opportunities for Daly.
What economic crisis?
PGATour.com of all places reports.
...on ebay. Make sure you read the Q&A. It's for a worthy cause! Sort of.
And in case you are a scout still hoping to see Daly's action, you can head here.
However, unlike Stevie "I gladly chuck Nikon or Canon" Williams, Australian Open contestant John Daly offered to pay for the trashed camera. Sort of like when John Belushi bashes that folk singer's guitar in Animal House, and then shrugs and says sorry. Hey, that's at least two things Daly has in common with Bluto. Well and the drinking part too, so make it three.
After pushing his tee shot wide on the ninth hole -- his last -- Daly walked into a clump of trees, where spectator Brad Clegg tried to take a picture at close range.
Daly reportedly snatched the camera and smashed it against the nearest tree, telling the man, "You want it back, I'll buy you a new one."
Asked if he would seek compensation, Clegg told the Australian Associated Press: "I don't think I'll be chasing him for the money. He's a big bloke!"
The Times features this story and a photo of the cameraman with his wounded weapon.
John Huggan following John Daly in Australia:
Two days ago, Daly missed the cut – what a shock – at Huntingdale. Rounds of 76 and 73 added up to a 149 total that was four shots too many. His putting was certifiably awful but, as always, he played with a refreshing speed that made one think that he is either a) a welcome throwback to a time when a round of golf in a professional tournament did not closely resemble a death march or b) not that bothered really.
One hole seemed to sum up Daly's current attitude to the game that should have made him a wealthy man. On the 440-yard 11th hole on Friday, he unleashed a mighty drive that, downwind, travelled all of 380 yards. One of his playing companions, former Amateur champion Mikko Ilonen, hit a huge block that led to him losing his ball.
The Finn played three off the tee before hitting a lovely pitch to within inches of the cup. Daly casually flipped a half wedge to maybe 30 feet, then – you guessed it – three-putted to match Ilonen's hard-working bogey. He trudged wearily to the next tee with nary a flicker of emotion.
Martin Blake reports that Stuart Appleby is excited about John Daly getting an invite to the Australian Masters field this week.
As the 42-year-old Daly arrived in Melbourne yesterday for the $1.5 million tournament at Huntingdale, Appleby expressed regret that the two-time major championship winner had become far more famous for his off-course antics than any prowess on the fairways.
"That [image] has got to the stage now where that is who John Daly is, unfortunately," he said. "His game hasn't been to the level he wants it, and the sponsors have seen fit to see John Daly [play]. Unfortunately, there's a million guys who hit it as long as John Daly now. Very few, I guess, make it look as effortless as John does, but I don't think John's here because of his world ranking [788].
"I'm not quite sure how that works. I guess he's a walking train wreck and, unfortunately, people turn their heads to watch the train wreck."
Josh Peter reports on John Daly moving into OJ territory. Let's just hope his visits to Las Vegas turn out better than OJ's.
From the sad but true files, Martin Kaufman writes about John Daly and says the folks at Golfweek are wondering if they should start preparing his obit.
Well, there's probably some text stamped on the back. And it is nice that they use Hooters orange. I wonder what Marty Hackel would say about the collar up and that open? Sorry, this isn't funny.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
