John Patrick Daly (born April 28, 1966) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour.
Daly is known primarily for his driving distance off the tee (earning him the nickname “Long John”), his non-country club appearance and attitude, his exceptionally long backswing, the inconsistency of his play (with some exceptional performances and some controversial incidents), and his personal life. His two greatest on-course accomplishments are his “zero to hero” victory in the 1991 PGA Championship, and his playoff victory over Costantino Rocca in the 1995 Open Championship.
In addition to his wins on U.S. soil, Daly has won accredited pro events in South Africa, Swaziland, Scotland, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and Canada.
According to official performance statistics kept since 1980, Daly in 1997 became the first PGA Tour player to average more than 300 yards per drive over a full season. He did so again in every year from 1999 to 2008, and he was the only player to do so until 2003.
Daly’s last PGA Tour victory came in San Diego in 2004, earning him a two-year playing exemption. After 2006, Daly’s career began to falter and he had trouble making cuts and staying on the tour. He was primarily earning PGA Tour event entries through past champion status and numerous sponsor invitations.
Daly is the only man from either Europe or the United States to win two major golf championships but not be selected for the Ryder Cup, since that event began in 1927.
Daly has been successful in multiple businesses. He is endorsed by LoudMouth Golf Apparel and owns a golf course design company. In addition, Daly has written and recorded music, and has released two music albums.
Daly was born in Carmichael, California. With his father, mother, older sister and older brother Jamie, John moved from California to Dardanelle, Arkansas when he was four years old.
Daly attended the University of Arkansas, from 1984 to 1987, on a golf scholarship, and was a member of the golf team.
He joined the PGA Tour in 1991, showed increasingly strong play throughout the year, and then won the PGA Championship that August. Daly was subsequently named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for 1991
He added to his reputation as a power hitter in 1993 by becoming, apparently, the first (and still the only) player to reach the green of the famous 630-yard hole 17 at Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course in two strokes.
In 1995, in the midst of a middling season, Daly unexpectedly won The Open Championship in a playoff with Italy’s Costantino Rocca at the Old Course, St Andrews.
After winning the 1995 Open Championship, Daly struggled with his golf game and drinking habits for the next nine years.
In 1998, Daly recorded one of the highest scores on a single hole in PGA Tour golf history, shooting an 18 on the sixth hole at the Bay Hill Invitational.
Daly did not win another professional tournament until December 2014, when he won the Beko Classic by one shot.
Having turned 50 on April 28, 2016, Daly became eligible to play on the PGA Tour Champions. Daly continues to compete semi-regularly on the Champions Tour.
Daly has a flowing self-taught golf swing which was built for raw power and distance. Daly takes his golf club back much farther past parallel on his back swing by extreme coiling of his arms and shoulders which creates very fast club head speed on his down swing.
Daly has had several incidents during golf tournaments which have contributed to his “Wild Thing” image including the following:
During the 1998 PGA Tour’s Bay Hill Invitational, Daly used a three-wood to hit six golf balls into the water during the final round. Daly finally got his seventh attempt over the water which was a distance of approximately 270 yards. Daly shot an 18 on the par-five sixth hole and finished the round with a score of 85.
In the 2000 U.S. Open, he shot a 14 on the par-five 18th hole. Daly hit three golf balls into the Pacific Ocean and hit another into a backyard next to the fairway.
In 2002, after making a triple-bogey seven on his last hole at the Coolum course in Australia, Daly threw his putter and ball into a pond.
During the 2008 Australian Open, he broke a spectator’s camera at Royal Sydney’s ninth hole.
Daly walked off during his first round at the 2011 Australian Open after hitting all of his golf balls into the water.
In the second round of the 2015 PGA Championship at the Whistling Straits Golf Course in Haven, Wisconsin, Daly, who was at the time 1-over par right at the cut line, hit three consecutive tee shot attempts into the water of Lake Michigan at the par-3 7th hole. He used a 4-iron on the first unsuccessful try, then switched to a 6-iron on the next two failed tries. After his fourth attempt (his 7th shot), which found the green, Daly was so livid about his shot selection that he threw his 6-iron into Lake Michigan. Daly ended up scoring a septuple-bogey 10, dropping to +8. He finished the round with an 82 and missed the cut.
