John Daly’s recent playing on the European Tour has been a blessing for both the tour and Daly. Daly is a magnet for the news media and attracts much attention from golf fans all over the world. The only players to attract a bigger following than the “Wild Thing” when he is playing well are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. That was part of Daly’s problem in the United States. His every move, on and off the course, is covered and recorded by the press. John has a difficult time managing his life and living under the lenses of the American media can be too much to deal with at times. The more laid back, hands off style of the European Tour and the international media has been a welcome respite from the pressures of being under constant media scrutiny.
Daly has responded well to his new environment. It’s not like he is setting the golfing world on fire but he has started taking positive steps to reclaiming some respect as a golfer. In his past five European Tournament starts he has made three cuts and played well enough at The BMW Italian Open to claim a tie for second place. That finish along with a tie for thirty first at The Open de Espana allowed Daly to do something he has not done in awhile; make money on the golf course. The last time Daly was seen making money in the United States he was selling shirts and hats out of his tour bus at the US Masters. The time in Europe has been well spent. Daly has lost over fifty pounds due to Lap Band surgery and has distanced himself from many hangers on that only had a negative effect upon him. In a conversation with Rich Lerner on The Golf Channel, Daly says he has stopped drinking and “it’s a matter of choosing the right friends…I’m picky with whom I hang around with. All Those friends aren’t calling since I don’t have anything to give them.” He may finally have got it right. If he can stay on the straight and narrow when he returns to play the US PGA Tour in the next few weeks he may truly be on the road to recovery.
The European has been a sort of “rehab” stop for John and it has worked as well as any 28 day recovery center. John should strongly consider playing the rest of the year in Europe. He currently stands at 100 in the Race to Dubai and can play many more European stops to be in the hunt for a piece of the huge payoff in November. He will only get into a few tournaments in the US, so his best option for golf and his personal recovery is Europe.
Daly has tried to remake himself before, but this time he is saying and doing all the right things. Let’s hope he can keep it up. Europe has been good to John and John has been good for the Tour. Now it’s time John is good to himself.
