It was another entertaining few days in the life of John Daly as the American teed up at the Regions Tradition before heading to Tulsa for his 29th PGA Championship appearance.
Daly, who won the Wanamaker Trophy at the first attempt in 1991, started the week by showing off a brand-new pair of custom golf shoes, posing for photos like a child on Christmas with the model plastered with his face on and the words ‘redneck’.
The veteran, known for his eccentric charm off the course as well as long drives on it, then proved why he is a long-time fan favourite through making the day of two young golfers by giving them a generous donation.
Playing in a practice round before the Region Tradition, the first senior major of the year, Daly noticed two young fans raising money for charity at the event. In his usual good spirits, he challenged the pair to hit the green with his 5-iron for a $500 donation. Unfortunately, neither pulled off the shot, but Daly still reached into his pocket and gave the two youngsters $1,000 cash for their charity Cullman Kids Food Bank, along with a signed golf ball each.
“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life,” one of the young fans said.
Onto the golf itself, where Daly’s week took the quite the bizarre turn. The American opened the Region Tradition with a 68 at Greystone, in Alabama, marking only the second time this year he had broken 70.
Daly then moved to 8-under for the tournament and inside the top 10 with a few holes to play. But in a turbulent finish, the 56-year-old closed out the final three holes in 4-over-par, including a disastrous four-putt on the final hole.
Then, Daly was gone.
In a bizarre and unexplainable aftermath, the American simply walked off, despite being tied for 16th and seven off leader and eventual winner Steve Stricker.
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His actions breached the rules regarding signing your scorecard and, as a result, he was disqualified from the tournament.
Despite the latest episode in Daly’s entertaining career, the veteran remains in the field for this week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills, where he qualifies through an exemption thanks to winning the 1991 tournament.
