by John Daly
MY LIFE IN AND OUT OF THE ROUGH
The Truth Behind All That Bull****
You Think You Know About Me
JOHN DALY
WITH GLEN WAGGONER
My Family
God bless you all.
My Fans
You’ve always supported me. I owe you everything.
My Kids
Shynah, Sierra, Austin, Little John—my all-time favorite foursome.
My Mom
I miss you.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
“Too Much Ain’t Enough…”
ONE
Playin’ the Tour and Lovin’ Life
TWO
Finding My Way Home
THREE
Chasing My Dream
FOUR
A Long, Long Way…
FIVE
The Lion in His Den
SIX
The Harder You Fall
SEVEN
“All My Exes Wear Rolexes”
Photographic Insert
EIGHT
The Daly Numbers
NINE
The Gift of Love
TEN
“You Don’t Know Me”
ELEVEN
Stand by Your Woman
TWELVE
“Where I Am Now”
Postscript
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Credits
Copyright
About The Publisher
INTRODUCTION
“TOO MUCH AIN’T ENOUGH…”
That’s a line from a fine old country-and-western song by Billy Joe Shaver—and not a half bad title for my life story.
You see, I haven’t led what you’d call an ordinary life.
I’ve traveled to six continents—and won golf tournaments on five of them.
In my darker days, I had a few drinks, visited a few hospital ERs, and did time in a couple of rehab clinics.
I’ve beat up hotel rooms, houses, and cars.
I’ve gambled away a couple of fortunes.
I live on Diet Coke, Marlboro Lights, and the support of my fans.
I’ve weighed as much as 290 pounds—and lost as much as 65 in three months.
And I’ve been married four times.
I guess you could say I’m not exactly a poster boy for moderation.
But I also won two of golf’s four majors before I turned 30. Only five other golfers in history have done that. You may have heard of them: Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, and Tiger Woods. I am humbled and honored to be on that list.
Sometimes I wonder how I’m still standing, let alone chasing my third major. But you know what? I’ve always done it my way, and I think the best is still to come.
So I’m writing this book to tell the whole story, my story. The wins, the losses, and everything in between—without the bullshit.
This is me.
A lot of people live in the past. They get stuck in a negative life because all they do is wallow in the bad things they did. How is that going to help them tomorrow? My past ain’t the greatest, but it ain’t the worst. And I don’t have any skeletons in the closet. They’re all out. I got all my skeletons out. Everybody knows everything I’ve ever done. (Or you will after you finish this book.)
So you could be thinking right about now, why in the hell, if he really thinks people shouldn’t live in the past, is Big John Daly writing a book about his past?
Good question.
My answer is that laying my life out this way, trying to see it as a whole thing instead of a bunch of disconnected memories, helps me get a grip on the present and try to build a future. So I’m writing this book in part to help me understand myself—and get ready for whatever life throws at me down the way.
But I’m also writing this book because I believe I owe it to you, my fans. You’ve always been there for me, and I want to strengthen the bond between us.
Throughout my career, you guys have been my lifeline, my port in a storm, my best and most trustworthy connection to all that’s good and strong and giving in the human spirit.
Without you fans, I’d be nothing—or maybe dead.
So if you’ve stood by me all these years, through good times and bad, and held out your hands to me, isn’t it high time you hear straight from The Lion’s mouth why I’ve done some of the things I’ve done, how I feel about things, and what I see around the bend?
I think it is. I know I owe you my life, so to me it follows that I owe you the true story of how I’ve lived it.
My mother, God rest her soul, used to tell me, “Champions come from the heart.” Those are true words, words I’ve tried to live by. I’m proud that those words—my mother’s legacy to me—are written above the door opening out onto the University of Arkansas football field, and that Razorback football players slap that sign to remind them of her message as they go out on the field.
Champions come from the heart.
ONE
PLAYIN’ THE TOUR AND LOVIN’ LIFE
Back in the summer of 1991, my first year on the PGA Tour, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a household name in golf, unless you happened to spend a lot of time in my mother’s household.
Finally, after three and a half years of scraping by on the minitours and the South Africa Tour following my decision to drop out of college and turn pro in 1987, and after four trips to the PGA Tour’s brutal Qualifying School, I’d earned my Tour card for the 1991 season. By the beginning of August, I still hadn’t won anything, but I’d made about $160,000 up to that time, so I was feeling okay. I wasn’t tearing it up or anything, but I’d made a bunch of cuts, and I’d finished fourth at the Honda back in March and third in the Chattanooga Classic in July.
All year, word had been spreading a little about this redneck kid from Arkansas who could really let it fly but sometimes had to do some looking for it after it landed. So at tournaments I’d draw some fans around the tee to watch me hit driver. I never saw too many people along the fairways watching me hit my second shot, but that was okay. I knew I had some other clubs in my bag. Anyway, I’d wind up that year leading the PGA Tour in driving distance with just under 289 yards (288.9, if you’re a stats freak). That would be good for about number 98 in 2005, and probably out of the top 100 in 2006. But back then, it was like 6 yards ahead of Greg Norman, who was number 2, and people were taking some notice.
Playin’ the Tour and lovin’ life—man, I was 25 years old, and I had the world by the tail!
As August rolled around, though, I hadn’t made enough money to qualify for the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, which is just outside of Indianapolis. I was close enough to know that if I’d made a few more putts along the way, I’d be getting ready for my first practice round. But I was far enough back at ninth alternate to figure I had no chance in hell of getting in.
The week before, I’d played the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan, just outside of Flint, and I’d stunk up the place, missing the cut by a bunch. So I went back to Memphis, where I’d just closed on my first home and spent $32,000 I couldn’t afford on a new BMW for Bettye, my fiancée.
I did pretty much what I always did when I was home. Practiced at Chickasaw Country Club. Hung out with whatever buddies were around. Probably ate lunch at McDonald’s. Maybe played some in the afternoon. Went home. Had a few drinks, no doubt. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I never once thought I had a prayer of playing in the PGA Championship. A couple of foursomes of guys would have to withdraw for me to get in. There was no way that was going to happen, not in a major.
But then a few guys dropped out for o
ne reason or another, and every time one did, I’d get a call from Ken Anderson of the PGA of America to tell me that I’d moved up a notch. Nothing to get excited about. Then about five o’clock Wednesday afternoon, he called to say I was now third alternate. Still not likely I’d get in, he said, what with the tournament beginning in less than 24 hours.
Now, most Tour pros wouldn’t walk across the street to watch somebody else play golf, but I decided to drive on up to Indianapolis to watch the PGA, to hang out, and—okay, I’ll admit it—to have a few drinks with my buddy Fuzzy Zoeller.
Fuzzy had won the Masters in 1979 and the U.S. Open in 1984. He was a serious player. A major player. And he was just maybe the most popular guy on the PGA Tour. And I was—as I said—not exactly a household name. Or put it another way: I was a nobody. But Fuzzy and I had met in 1989 at the Federal Express–St. Jude Classic in Memphis, where I lived. Being a local boy, I’d gotten a sponsor’s exemption. Fuzzy spotted me and asked me to play a practice round with him. We’ve been close friends ever since.
But my best friend in those days was Jack Daniels. Had been since I was 19. Most of the time, I was drinking Jack like you wouldn’t believe. A fifth a day, sometimes more. If I was in a bar, it would be Jack and Diet Coke. If I was home or in a hotel, I’d just drink it straight out of the bottle. Most people would be drunk for a month on what I’d had before dinner. I’d paid a couple of visits to emergency rooms in college to have my stomach pumped. But maybe the scariest time was in Falmouth, Maine, in 1990, the night before a Hogan Tour tournament began. I was partying with some guys, and I was having what had, over the summer, become my usual: triple Jack Daniels on the rocks, no water, three at a time. After a while the waitress said the bartender wouldn’t serve me but one drink at a time. Fine. I’d order a drink, she’d bring it to me, and I’d drain the glass while she was standing there—and ask for another. After a little of that, I had to be taken to a hospital because I’d passed out with my eyes open and the guys I was drinking with thought I’d had a stroke or something. The next day I shot two under.
But none of that stopped me. I was still young enough and dumb enough to believe I was bulletproof.
Back then, JD and JD were quite a pair—practically inseparable.
Wednesday afternoon, my fiancée, Bettye, and I were on our way to Indiana. (Yeah, my clubs were in the trunk. That’s my rule: never leave home without ’em.)
I didn’t have a hotel booked, of course, but my agents, Bud Martin and John Mascatello, managed to get me a room that afternoon in a Residence Inn. I’d signed with John and Bud back in March after the Players Championship, and we used to laugh that the best move they made all that first year was booking me a cheap motel room.
I’d told the PGA office where I’d be staying, just in case, and when me and Bettye rolled into the Residence Inn at 2:30 in the morning and got to our room, the message light was blinking. It was Ken Anderson, the same guy who all week had been saying I wasn’t going to get in. This time his message was different: “You’re on the tee at 1:58 on Thursday.”
Turns out the last three guys ahead of me on the alternates list had pulled out. Bill Sander was injured, Mark Lye didn’t want to play without getting in a practice round, and Brad Bryant had an illness in the family. And then Nick Price withdrew because his wife was about to give birth to their first child.
So, thanks to Sue Price, I made it into the 1991 PGA Championship!
Happy as I was to get in, my expectations of doing much in the tournament weren’t exactly what you’d call high. I hadn’t been playing worth a damn, I hadn’t played a practice round, and I was beat from being on the road for 10 hours. Didn’t matter. I was just jumping out of my skin with excitement. I just wanted to go on out there and play the course.
Only one little problem: it was 2:30 in the morning.
Six hours later, after breakfast at McDonald’s, I was raring to go. I had everything I needed—tee time, clubs, golf shoes, golf shirts, even a caddy, thanks also to Nick (and Sue) Price. When he found out on Wednesday morning that I was on the short list of guys still hoping for a miracle, Nick—who’s one of the great guys on the Tour—called to wish me good luck. He asked if I’d consider using his caddy, Jeff (Squeeky) Medlen, if I did get in. Would I consider it? Squeeky was only one of the top loopers on the Tour at the time and a terrific guy to boot. You bet I’d consider it.
Where’s the first tee?
Squeeky and I hit it off right from the start. I’d never even seen Crooked Stick, but he knew it because he’d walked it in practice rounds with Nick earlier in the week. At 7,289 yards, Crooked Stick was the longest course ever to host a major, and my only strategy was to go out there and kill the fucking thing. Squeeky was down with that: not once did he advise me to play defensively or conservatively.
Squeeky was a damn good caddy—so experienced, so focused. It was amazing how fast he got to know my game. He could club me right away, like we’d been working together for years. That’s not easy. At the pro level, there are a lot of gradations. One guy’s 8-iron is another guy’s 7. One guy fades everything, another guy draws it. Low trajectory, high trajectory. And so on. That doesn’t matter on your average Saturday morning, when most guys don’t have caddies anyway. But for pros, it matters. A lot.
Right from the first tee, Squeeky saw how good I was hitting driver, and he didn’t want any negative stuff—no backing down and playing safe and hitting the 3-wood—so he’d hand me the driver, and in that voice of his that got him his nickname, he’d say the same thing: “Kill it, John. Just kill it.”
So that’s what I did.
The first round, I shot 69—three under—which left me only two shots off the lead. Needless to say, I was pretty damned satisfied with that. Thinking back on it, the whole day was pretty cool: from ninth alternate to one of the leaders after the first round.
Thing is, though, I didn’t know how near the top I was until the next day. Thursday afternoon was when that big storm blew through and the lightning killed a fan. PGA officials suspended play for a while at about 2:15, so our group didn’t finish our first round. The next day they sent us out early to finish the last three holes on the back nine. That’s why nobody knew about my 69—because it didn’t get posted until Friday morning. No appearance at the media center, no having to face a bunch of cameras and a bunch of guys asking questions. Looking back, that was undoubtedly a good thing.
Thursday night, after grabbing dinner at McDonald’s, Bettye and I went back to our motel room and hung out. Bettye played sports—she was a strong tennis player—so she understood competitiveness and had a good idea of what the day had meant to me. Me, I was just flat-out tired, as tired as I’ve ever been in my life.
But it was a good tired.
That first round, me and my playing partners, Bob Lohr and Billy Andrade, didn’t have any kind of gallery following us from hole to hole. Mostly, the only people who saw us were folks just standing along the ropes, watching for big-name players as the groups came through. And anybody who did stay with our group had to be following Bob or Billy. Nobody was following me. Why would they? At least not at first.
Friday, though, when I shot 67 and got to eight under, it was a whole new ball game. I was leading the tournament! The PGA Championship! Me, John Patrick Daly, Tour rookie from Arkansas, I was the leader in the clubhouse midway through a major!
But you know what, because I hadn’t finished my round on Thursday, I hadn’t had all night to think about what going low in a major meant. I just went from finishing my first round on Friday to eating lunch to starting my second round, with not a lot of time to get all nervous about what was happening.
It’s not hardly a big secret that one of the keys to my 69-67 start was my length. The first par 5 at Crooked Stick, number five, was the longest par 5 we played on the Tour that year. Still would be, I think, if we played it all the time—600 yards. Well, in the second round I hit driver, 1-iron to the middle of the green, and there I was
, putting for eagle. Lohr and Andrade were looking at each other like, “No way he’s on this green in two. No fucking way.”
I guess I might have been a little surprised myself. I figured I’d get close, maybe up and down for birdie, but getting on in two and putting for eagle got me a little pumped. I two-putted for birdie. I’ll take two-putt birdies any time.
Toward the end of Friday’s round, some fan stuck his hand out as we walked from the green to the next tee box, and without thinking about it one way or another, I slapped him a high five. No big deal. It just seemed like the natural thing to do. But it caught on. Next thing you know, I’m high-fiving every hand I see. Now, Tour golfers aren’t known for doing that sort of thing. Maybe they’re afraid they might hurt their hands or something. I don’t know exactly why I started, but once I did, I never stopped.
After the round, a couple of PGA officials grabbed me and took me to the media center. That was kinda cool. I’d been in the media center at Honda, but there was over a hundred people at Crooked Stick, all in the biggest tent I’d ever seen. Somebody asked me if I wanted something to drink. I thought about a beer, but I didn’t know how that would go down, so I asked for a Diet Coke.
I don’t remember much about my first time in front of the media that week. You always start with birdies and bogeys—that is, you go through hole by hole; you tell the reporters what you hit, why you missed this putt, that sort of thing. That’s the standard routine, before they start asking questions about what you thought or what you felt or what you thought you felt. Golf reporters never see most of a golf tournament, at least not live. They only see what’s playing on the TV feed in the media room. Some go out on the course, usually on Saturday, but even then they can only follow a couple of guys at a time. And there’s 144 of us out there the first two days. So we have to tell them how we played, otherwise they wouldn’t know. And nobody had any idea who I was, or what my game was like, so after they were finished with birdies and bogeys, there wasn’t much anybody could ask except, “How’d it feel out there, John?” and “What do you think about the course?” and “How do you think you’ll do tomorrow?”
