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Listening to John Daly talk about his putting woes and apologising for past sins, it’s hard to believe he is golf’s “Wild Thing”.
You almost find yourself warming to the 42 year-old rogue, whose litany of marriage bust-ups and booze binges have overshadowed his golfing feats since the beefy American won the hearts of fans around the world with his unheralded win in the 1991 US PGA Championship.
Daly, who hasn’t given up on winning a third major, returned to the Hyatt Regency Coolum resort this week – the scene of one of his golfing atrocities – to contest the $1.5 million Australian PGA Championship, starting on Thursday.
And following the shock withdrawal of tournament drawcard and world No.17 Adam Scott, who injured his knee in the surf at the weekend, tournament organisers will be praying the controversial American makes the cut.
Defending champion Peter Lonard, looking for PGA win number four at Coolum, said at the height of his game, Daly was an amazing player.
“Very rarely do you get golfers that smash it a long way and have such great touch around the greens,” said Lonard.
“He came along in an era where you tried to do it right with fitness trainers, masseurs, yoga instructors, psychologists and all that stuff, but he was from the old mould.
“He could shoot a score without any preparation which, we witnessed with the PGA.
“Ninety-nine per cent of players could never do that, turn up up the day before with no practice round and go out and win a major.
“He’s just a naturally great player and when he’s on, he’s one of the greatest players in the world.”
Australia’s highest ranked player Geoff Ogilvy, the new PGA favourite, said Daly would draw a lot of attention to the golf tournament.
“He’s the most colourful character to play golf in the last 25 years,” he said.
“Hopefully he plays the 72 holes and ends with 14 clubs.”
The last time Daly played the PGA in 2002 he disgraced himself, tossing his putter into the lake beside the 18th green and storming off the course without signing his card.
It was the end of emotionally draining week for the volatile Daly, his mother passing away while he was travelling out to Australia.
He simply lost it.
The putter, recovered from the lake by a diver and proudly displayed in a cabinet in the resort’s Spike Bar, was wisely removed before Daly arrived on Sunday.
While he lost his putter on his last visit, Daly showed when he fronted the media on Tuesday he hadn’t lost his desire to climb out of a putting slump or his sense of humour.
When told Scott had withdrawn and he should stay out of the surf, Daly quipped with a smile: “Hey, there’s enough whales in the ocean, they don’t need me.”