I clearly remember when John Daly burst upon the collective golf consciousness. I was working as a clubhouse attendant at Henderson Lake Golf Course when the 1991 PGA Championship was contested.
During the course of the major tournament, all the staff and members at Henderson were utterly enthralled by this no name that was bombing the ball all around Crooked Stick in Indiana.
Daly, who was the 9th alternate for the event, ended up becoming an instant legend as he claimed the Wanamaker Trophy. His “grip it and rip it” mantra soon became repeated by every weekend hack that picked up a club that summer.
Aftewards, Daly was an easy fan favourite. He had some early success, which included winning his second major: the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland.
However, as most everyone knows, Big John has battled personal demons: alcoholism, a gambling addiction, and a weight problem. Inevitably, this all took a toll on his golf game.
In the past few years, Daly was just as likely to withdraw from a tournament, after another blow-up, than actually make the cut. In 2007, he lost his tour card and has lived off sponsor and tournament exemptions, and personal appearance fees ever since.
Yet, after the first round of the 139th British Open, Daly was competing with the big boys once again. Feeling right back at home on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Daly had a great opening day, and was just a few shots off the lead (held by Rory McIlroy who tied a major championship record with a 63). He then followed up with a decent second round, played in winds that gusted upwards of 100 kilometers-per-hour (ask McIlroy about it, he shot an 80). As a result, he made the cut for the second straight year.
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Across the pond, Daly is still a clear fan favourite. He was receiving plenty of love from the galleries at the Open Championship. And he still has quite a following in Canada and the United States.
How does a guy who has one tournament title in the last 15 years remain so popular? Most sports fans like to pull for the underdog. Daly clearly came to the PGA Tour as one, and after having so many personal problems, will continue to be one for the rest of his life. What is endearing about John, is he is pretty honest about his issues. He speaks from the heart.
That brings me to Tiger Woods. At this time last year, we thought it was a travesty when he missed the weekend at the 2009 British Open—just the second time he failed to make a cut in his last 50 majors played.
Little did we know at the time, that missing that cut would be the least of Woods’ problems. Since then, we have found out that Eldrick is not going to win any husband of the year trophies.
Woods has handled his personal crisis in a much different fashion than Daly has. When Tiger finally admitted to having extra marital affairs, he did it with a press conference where he awkwardly issued a statement, and then took no questions from the media.
In the days afterwards, Woods handpicked the first journalists to fire questions at him. Over the course of these interviews, we learned that Tiger was very sorry for what happened, and not much else. It was typical of the 34-year-old. His responses were very measured, managing to keep the media at bay while still talking to them.
It has made Woods a less than sympathetic person in the eyes of most, as compared to Daly. And maybe this is where Tiger can learn something from Big John. I am not suggesting Woods has been dishonest when he has explained what has happened, but he always seems to be holding something back. This is not a bad thing. And I think many people would approach this situation in a similar manner. While Daly is an open book; Woods is an enigma.
As a result, Woods is clearly not as popular as he once was. Many of the fans that were solidly behind him before what transpired over the past year have moved on. It is no stretch to believe he will never approach the height of popularity he once held just a few years back.
People revered Woods because he was the best golfer on the planet. But now that he has proved to be mortal off the course, his popularity has taken a hit.
It is the opposite for Daly. He will never be confused for one of the sport’s all-time greats. Yet, it is his mortality that many fans relate to, which makes him relevant despite such little success.
In the end, Daly faded and finished the Open tied for 48th. Woods was better, tied for 23rd, but a distant 13 shots back of the winner—South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen.
Sure, Woods will be a favourite once again at the season's final major, the PGA Championship in early August. Win or lose, he has a legitimate chance to break Jack Nicklaus’ record for most major titles. He has a shot to become the ultimate champion.
As for Daly, he may never win another tournament. But, that is far from the point. As long as he continues to fight his battles a humble, honest manner, he will continue to be the people’s champ.
I’m pulling for Big John.
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