ESPN.com - Golf Online - British Open 2000 - Wild ride brings Daly back to St. Andrews

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press
Wednesday, July 19

On the patio outside the bustling Beer Hunter restaurant, John Daly leaned back in a black iron chair, lighted another cigarette and stared at a glass of beer as if trying to decide whether it was half full or half empty.


	John Daly was on top of the golf world at St. Andrews in 1995. He hasn't won since.

"Should I bring you another one?" a waitress asked.

On this occasion, a cool January night in the California desert, Daly decided his fourth beer was still half full. He politely waved her away.

It had been six months since he stopped at a convenience store on his way home from the missing the cut in the St. Jude Classic, downed a 12-pack of beer and ended more than two years of sobriety.

The decision to resume drinking -- and his refusal to seek help -- cost Daly an endorsement with Callaway worth $3 million over the final two years, more money than his combined earnings in 10 years on the PGA Tour.

He insists it was a small price to pay.

Daly wanted to prove he could do it his way, that he could consume beer without it consuming him. He felt free from the restrictions imposed by Callaway and from expectations of everyone around him. He was hungry to play the kind of golf that brought him a PGA Championship and a British Open.

"I really feel like my game is starting to come around," he said that night.

The next day, Daly missed the cut in the Bob Hope Classic.

Highs and lows
Five years ago, Daly proved he could win without a wee nip.

Sober for 2½ years, his longest dry spell since he started drinking at age 8, Daly overpowered the Old Course and won the British Open at St. Andrews in a playoff against Costantino Rocca, putting him halfway home to the career Grand Slam with the prime of his career just around the corner.

"What I remember most is his eagerness," said his caddie, Greg Rita, who now works for David Duval. "He really believed in himself that week, that the course was made for him. It was the most confidence I've ever seen in him."

Daly, 34, returns to St. Andrews with his confidence at an all-time low, his status changed from two-time major champion to one of the most unpredictable figures in golf. He has three ex-wives, mounting gambling debts and no major sponsors.

His game is a wreck.

Daly remains in select company, one of only six players under 40 who have won at least two majors.

Unlike the others -- Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Lee Janzen, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ernie Els _ Daly has little hope of ever getting another chance in the Masters or U.S. Open, which invite only top players from the money list and World Rankings. He has a virtual lifetime pass to play in the British Open as a past champion.

Daly has finished no higher than 77th on the money list since 1995, and he's not even among the top 200 in the world.

"When I look on the computer, I've got 'N/A' in the World Ranking," he said.

But there is reason for hope, especially at St. Andrews, which rewards big hitters. Besides his British Open victory, Daly is 8-1 on the Old Course in two Dunhill Cup appearances.

"I'm looking forward to going back to the British," he said in March. "Going to the British again is like going home. I've had some really good success at St. Andrews, and hopefully my game will be in really good shape."

Sadly, nothing about Daly is in shape.

Most days, a big decision is McDonald's or Taco Bell. His gut hangs over his waistline, his pants droop to the grass. He goes through a cigarette per hole, and he has shown no desire to change.

"I went on a six-month workout plan," he said. "People said I would feel great after it. Hell, I threw up every time I worked out. It's not for me."

His game is even worse off.

Daly has missed the cut 54 times in 104 tournaments since 1996, and he has only four top-10s in the last five years.

"More than ever, he wants to play well," said his agent, John Mascatello. "Hopefully, he can find some balance between expectations and results."

Reasons to drink
Sitting at the bar in the Bay Hill Lodge, drinking a diet soda and puffing through a pack of cigarettes about an hour before his tee time, Daly stared through the smoke as he contemplated an answer he used to rehearse during two trips to rehab, in 1993 and 1997.

Are you an alcoholic?

"I don't think I am," he replied bluntly. "I think I let people try to convince me that I am, and that's the worst thing I could have done. I don't drink any more than anybody else my age. I don't drink to solve problems. I don't drink around my kids. I don't drink to get bombed any more. I hate that feeling. I just drink to relax."

Daly wasn't planning to play the Bay Hill Invitational until he put together four decent rounds the week before in the Honda Classic and tied for 16th, his best finish in over a year.

"My game is coming around," he said.

Two days later, Daly managed only nine pars in the final round and signed for an 87.

Father figure
Eleven months after winning the British Open, Daly was seen drinking. He later described it as "social drinking," but it evolved into something much more serious.

During The Players Championship in March 1997, he was pouring down shots at a Jacksonville Beach, Fla., nightclub. Later that night, he got into an argument with his third wife, Paulette, trashed his hotel room and wound up in the hospital, unsure where he had been or how he had gotten there.

	“	To see my name on two major trophies probably makes up for not winning 17 times. And I'm still teeing it up every day. There's something to be said for that. ”
		— John Daly

The fallout was immense. His wife divorced him. So did Wilson Golf.

When Daly emerged from his second stint in alcohol rehab, he found a father figure in Ely Callaway, who signed him to a five-year deal in which the equipment czar covered a reported $1.7 million of Daly's gambling debts.

The contract had a clause that required Daly to regularly attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, stay away from drinking and stay out of casinos.

"We never really did make a deal with him based strictly on our hopes he would win," Callaway said. "He has this magnitude of charm. He's got the biggest galleries everywhere, whether he's winning or not. We wanted him to stay sober and get healthy and enjoy competing. If he could do that, we thought it would be very attractive to millions of people."

It was not without a struggle. Daly walked off the course in the middle of his second round in the 1997 U.S. Open, not even telling his caddie. A year later, he had the shakes in Vancouver and wept on the 15th green.

Within 10 months, he was drinking again.

Callaway didn't find out about this until he received reports of Daly drinking and losing thousands of dollars in a Las Vegas casino. He tried to give the troubled star one more chance, but Daly refused to go back to rehab.

"When we signed him, we thought he had found a new will to win, and a will to survive," Callaway said.

Would he give Daly yet another chance?

"He would have a difficult time convincing us again that he believes in the AA program," Callaway said. "He has sort of given up the struggle to remain sober."

Walking away
Daly was the center of attention at a large, round table at Doral Resort & Spa, where he announced a sponsorship agreement with SoBe Beverages, his first significant deal since Callaway terminated his contract.

He was just as excited about plans to promote his own logo, hopeful it could do for him what the shark has done for Greg Norman. Daly chose a lion, with a colorful and wild mane, swinging a club with Daly's "grip it and rip it" style.

"He's an animal that can only tame himself," Daly said, explaining his choice of a mascot. "He's not going to listen to anybody. He's the king of the jungle. He never gives up. He keeps fighting. And that's me."

Three months later, Daly was 3-over in the first round of the U.S. Open when he came to the 18th at Pebble Beach and promptly made a 14 -- one ball out of bounds, three in the ocean. He signed for an 83 and withdrew.

"Get me to the airport, fast," he said.

Major accomplishments
This is not Daly's last chance.

Winning the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews came with a 10-year exemption on the PGA Tour, along with a free pass to the British Open until he turns 65, and to the PGA Championship, which he won in 1991, for as long as he chooses.

Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and others have never walked out on a major, never taken huge sums of appearance money and then tank a round, never made more news off the course than on it.

All are desperately trying to win their first major. Daly already has two.

"To see my name on two major trophies probably makes up for not winning 17 times," Daly said. "And I'm still teeing it up every day. There's something to be said for that."

That's about all he can say these days.

Still, he remains a crowd favorite. Perhaps that's because everyone digs the long ball, and no one can hit it quite like Daly. Or they can relate to a good ol' boy from Arkansas whose struggle with life's problems are constantly on display.

Or maybe they're just waiting to see the next train wreck.

"With me," Daly said, "you never know what will happen."