THE WOODLANDS, Texas — After a final round at the Insperity Invitational that could have encapsulated his entire career – significant peaks and valleys – the 50-year-old bad boy of the golfing world remained optimistic after his debut PGA Tour Champions event.
“I know what I need to work on,” John Daly said. “My wedge game is horrible. My putting is horrible.”
A spectator behind Daly then yelled, “You had seven birdies today, JD, don’t sell yourself short!” But Daly also had back-to-back bogeys and a triple bogey on the 17th hole en route to finishing the event at two-under-par at The Woodlands Country Club.
All 81 participants receive prize money — with the winner receiving $315,000 — in this three-round event, which had no cut. Daly is expected to receive $27,900 for finishing in a seven-way tie for 17th place. Jesper Parnevik won the tournament at 12-under.
Daly will look to build on this performance at his next event, the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., which will take place May 19-22.
Overall, it was a respectable showing for a golfer who had played in only two events — the Qatar Masters and the Puerto Rico Open — this year.
But Lee Trevino, the six-time major champion who played in an 18-hole scramble here Saturday, maintains that Daly should expect a stiff challenge on this tour.
“John is not going to find it easy,” Trevino said this weekend. “I’m sure he will win, but it’s ... difficult. It’s very, very competitive. And playing three rounds, you’ve got to come out running. I mean, you can’t have that bad round the first day because you’re behind the eight ball here.”
The event offered a glimpse of the colorful personality and still booming drives that made Daly one of the sport’s most captivating figures the past quarter century.
It began with Fuzzy Zoeller handing Daly a giant bottle of vodka before the first hole Friday to commemorate Daly turning 50 last month. The gift was in lieu of the $150,000 Zoeller bet Daly years ago that he’d never reach 50 because of his over-the-top lifestyle.
Daly has remained a center attraction with hundreds of devoted fans following him this weekend even though he last won a PGA Tour event 12 years ago. He’d occasionally answer fans’ questions about club selection while walking up the fairway. He’d occasionally light up a cigarette. He’d occasionally yawn.
Daly’s eccentricities and indulgences — smoking, drinking, gambling, PGA Tour suspensions and ex-wives — all enhance his popularity, his fans say, because he is authentic.
“He is one of us,” said Rob Brummett, a longtime Daly fan who shares the golfer’s Arkansas roots. “That’s why everybody loves him — it’s the good and the bad. They say you can’t smoke, you can’t drink, you can’t gamble … He’s like, ‘That’s what I do.’”
There were also flashes of Daly’s once formidable talent. He opened Sunday’s final round with three consecutive birdies.
“For not playing (recently),” Daly said, “I’m pretty pleased.”
Daly believes he wasted his talent in the late 1990s and that his mental attitude is significantly better now. Regardless, fellow golfer Ian Woosnam said this tour may require Daly to adjust his game.
“It’s almost like he’s got to rein himself back a little bit and get the ball more under control,” said Woosnam, who won this event last year. “It’s a bit like playing more of the old fashioned game of golf we used to play … It’s not about so much power on this tour, it’s about putting and scoring.”
It’s a learning process for Daly, who said he felt like a rookie again this weekend. But he left encouraged.
“It was solid,” he said. “I played better than I thought I would.”
