Nice effing pants!
Here’s something we haven’t seen in a really, really long time: John Daly near the top of the leaderboard through 54 holes (yes, he’s made it that far!) at a PGA Tour event. Daly fired a respectable three-under 67 on moving day at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club to put him at two-under for the tournament, three shots behind current leader Bo Van Pelt.
Daly is in striking distance for his first PGA Tour victory since — pardon me for a moment, I need to look this up — 2004 at the Buick Invitational (winning the ’06 and ’07 TELUS Skins Game, aka exhibition event, doesn’t count, obviously). With the extra *rough* conditions (which have triggered nonstop griping from players) this week, does Daly have enough tenacity to piece together another 18 holes? If we’re judging by his track record this season, the odds don’t look too good.
In 13 events (12 of which he received sponsor’s exemptions) the two-time major champion has only made four cuts, with his best finish being T38 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Wait, actually, this might be a positive — Daly went low in the final round in Memphis to move up the leaderboard.
Can he find the mental will to push through another 18 holes? Well, good news is that the course is so difficult that it’s distracting him from his position.
“I think the golf course is so hard, you just kind of forget about that,” said Daly when asked about his emotions on being in contention. “You take one shot, one hole at a time because any hole — like yesterday on 18, I made it 2-under par, and I hit driver and tried to hit an 8-iron and lay it up in the rough and I made a 7.
“So any hole any time can get you out here. So I think playing this golf course is all I can do.”
Regardless of anyone’s personal opinions on Daly, I don’t think most people would mind seeing him in contention (especially the TV execs). It’d be a huge boost for golf if Daly could pull off a win, but if history serves as a guide, we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves.
“It would be nice (to win), but like you said, it’s so hard that you’re thinking more about the golf course,” he said. “But, yeah, it would be great, of course. I screw up a little bit and I can make eagle on that. You can’t do that out here. Every hole is just too hard.”
Well, Daly certainly has an..err…pragmatic attitude. (I know, I know, shocking!)
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
Wasted talent. Win or go to Q school next year! Earn your way back rather than beg to play.
Why not poke fun at Fowler’s pants (and hat)? If he wore these pants, they would be sick. And need I remind you, Fowler hasn’t won at all.
How can anyone create equivalence between Ricky Fowler and John Daly?
John has had a long string of success but mostly failure both personally and on the golf course. Daly plays with virtually no status on any tour, is in the middle of suing a Tour Event, begs for exemptions, and is generally a freak show. When he plays poorly he blames everyone else, is frequently sanctioned for his behavior, has been fired by at least one swing instructor and likely holds the modern record for being publicly dropped by sponsors.
Ricky is a young kid just starting his career, who deserves to be left out of any conversion about a washed up old freak show pro.
Well said, Fan. Divot, replace thyself. (JK)
“Divot, replace thyself” – HAHA!
Fan, I concur with all your points about JD… except for “washed up.” The jury’s still out on that one, and today just might prove you wrong. Like thousands of fans, I can’t help but root for the idiot despite myself.
I root for JD too, against all logic.
I didn’t think it was that hard to see that the point was about how one wacky-dressed PGA Tour is ridiculed while the other, equally stupidly dressed, is celebrated.
Dressing like a peacock gets one attention but at least one of them has done something to deserve it….both positive and negative.
Divot, don’t question the biases on this blog. They’re remarkably inconsistent.
Divot, I understand your point. Ricky certainly deserves some ridicule for his obnoxious wardrobe. I criticized his selection to the Ryder Cup but ate my words after his performance.
I would like to see some performance from the young man, because he looks to be very talented.
Remarkably, he appears to be well grounded but we have thought well of players before only to discover their dark side. Time will tell if our initial impression is correct.
Upon further review please repair yourself at your own discretion.
(that comment made my day)
@Fan — Rickie is well grounded and a very nice guy. I can’t see him having a dark side, but money/fame changes some people — don’t see Rickie being someone to worry about, though. Nice kid with great parents.
Glad to hear that.
Rickie isn’t my age but I can see how his generation might see some Arnold in him – bold, looks like he enjoys himself, treats people with respect, and wants to beat everyone in sight. Once he starts winning he may go on a run.
Golf needs that kind of player again.
(I just hope Uihlein doesn’t embrace Sunday orange when he arrives.)