Happy 50th birthday to a true champion, John Daly. To commemorate the Mid-South legend who has ties to Memphis, the Commercial-Appeal ran a feature story on the two-time major winner, and hats off to Josh Peters, who really got to the heart of just who Long John is.
I highly suggest that you read the entire piece because it really is fascinating, but here are a few of the highlights.
“I don’t feel healthy being 200 pounds or 185,” Daly said. “I lose distance. I like to have this gut to put my elbow on it when I putt because I did it for so long. I just feel healthier this way.
“You know, TV adds 30, 40 pounds to you. I’m going to be seen on TV and they’re going to go, ‘Oh, my God. Daly’s gained 500 pounds.’ I’ve gained a lot of it back that I lost. But I just wasn’t healthy.”
That's just good science.
“I wasn’t a silver-spoon kid on the golf course growing up. And no disrespect to any of them, but it was hard for me to get to know some of the guys on Tour.’’
You don't say?
“The dumbest thing I ever said is that I’d never drink again,” Daly said. “But that’s what I was feeling at that moment. I know I would never say that again.
#NoQuitters
“I’ll bet I’ve had 10 beers in the last three weeks. Maybe 15 beers in the last three weeks. I had a few John Dalys (lemonade and vodka) on my bus in Augusta."
Smart move here. Be vague because if anyone watched his periscope from his merch sale at the Augusta Hooters, few should be in air quotes.
“But other than that, it’s not like, ‘I’ve got to drink every day.’ Eighty-five, 90% of the time when I go play golf and I’m here (in Dardanelle), I fill my cooler with Diet Coke.”
He didn't say what was in the Styrofoam though...
While he has continued to drink, Daly said, he also has continued to gamble — in moderation. He said he enjoys casino slot machines.
“I don’t have to play the $1,000 machines, the $500 machines,” he said. “I usually play (the $25 machines) most of the time and just go in for two or three hours and have a good time. If I win, I win. If I don’t, OK, I’m gone.
JD is getting wise in his older years because everyone knows that you don't really lose until you lose at least a month's salary gambling. Until then, you're just spending money to make it.
There is a slimmer John Daly playing golf these days, but he’s only 12. That’s John Daly II, who attends a golf academy in Florida and resembles his famous father, if not in physique.
“He cusses a little bit, but what golfer doesn’t?” Daly said. “And he’ll throw a club or two. People say, ‘Why’d your son throw that club?’ And I say, ‘Because he cares.’ You know?
“I throw them because I care. I don’t throw them as much as I used to. But it’s a reflex or emotion of adrenaline is what I call it. You go, ‘Oh, my God. I just did that. I didn’t realize I did it.’ Like at the PGA last year when I threw the 6-iron in the lake. More of a reflex or just negative adrenaline, I guess.
I still can't understand why John didn't fit in better on Tour.
“I like to play for a little bit of money on the course,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be able to get a few games on the senior tour for that again. Because we can’t play cards on the PGA Tour in the locker room. And Tim (Finchem, commissioner of the PGA Tour) didn’t like us when we’d gamble too much on practice days.”
Uh...have you seen the purses on the Champions Tour? JD is a professional golfer, not the other way around. If he wants to make a real living, he's gotta find some additional revenue streams.
He's actually an innovator. While some might think playing for the purse is motivation enough, how do you honestly expect John to grind out a round when he's completely out of the tournament if he doesn't have five grand riding on every hole? He drives around in a tour bus. That ain't cheap. He's got a wife (fifth) and kids to think about.
And speaking of the wife...
“Like I told Anna when we first started dating, ‘I am a nympho, but I’m a loyal nympho. You stay loyal to me, I’ll stay loyal to you,’ ” Daly said. “Sex is the greatest thing in the world. It just doesn’t last long enough. I’ll say it. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
I don't know what we did to deserve John or even if we do, but damn it, am I glad we have him. Hit them long, hit them straight, and hit them few, JD. #MakeGolfGreatAgain
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