No thread on Daly winning the Buick Invitational?

[Dooby]

Daly the only guy who saw Buick win coming
07:26 AM CST on Monday, February 16, 2004

Associated Press


SAN DIEGO - John Daly might have been the only person who saw this coming.

Nine years removed from his last PGA Tour victory, there wasn't much to indicate he was capable of winning, much less against Tiger Woods and a strong field assembled at the Buick Invitational.

Off the course, life was even worse.

His wife faces drug and gambling charges from a federal indictment handed down in July, just five days after she gave birth to his first son. He had to withdraw from one tournament because he was hyperventilating. There were rumors, which Daly denied, that the tour had banned him until he sought treatment for drinking.

That's what made his victory Sunday so sweet to Daly -- and such a shock to everyone else.

"I never doubted," Daly said, choking back tears. "I knew I could win again."

Even more impressive was the way he won at Torrey Pines.

Despite closing with a 75, the highest final round by a winner in 13 years, Daly hit a 100-foot bunker shot that trickled 4 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie to prevail in a three-man playoff.

It wasn't over until Luke Donald missed a 6-foot birdie putt, and Chris Riley's 5-foot birdie putt made a horseshoe around the cup and popped out.

Daly covered his face with his hands and cried.

"It's the greatest," he said. "I've had a lot of ups and downs. Geez, this is sweet."

Daly had a lot of up-and-downs throughout the final round. As in life, he managed to survive. He saved par out of the bunker on No. 12 and No. 16, clinging to a one-shot lead.

Riley, who grew up in San Diego and ranks this tournament up with the Masters, holed a clutch birdie putt from 15 feet on the fringe to finish with a 69 at 10-under 278, eliminating Phil Mickelson and five others at 9 under.

Moments later, Donald made a birdie putt from almost the same spot to join Riley at 10 under.

Daly had a chance to win in regulation, but with 265 yards over the pond to the hole, he decided to lay up and trust his wedge, which has "Dr. Chipinski" stamped on the back of it.

He made par with a two-putt from 35 feet, and vowed to never do that again.

Walking down the 18th fairway, he told his caddie that if he had anything under 275 yards to the front of the green, he was going for it.

Daly had 262 yards. He went for it, putting his 3-wood in a greenside bunker.

"Nine years without winning on this tour, you could never tell with him playing that last hole," Donald said. "Obviously, it was John Daly-esque."

The bunker shot was exquisite, with thousands of fans nearing delirium as the ball approached the cup.

The final salute came when Daly was holding the trophy.

"All week, they've just been unreal," Daly said of the fans. "The drunk ones, the sober ones, I love them all."

Daly has a unique bond with the fans.

Despite his many mishaps -- three divorces, two trips to alcohol rehab, rash behavior that got him suspended -- he identifies with common people, and they identify with him.

"Everybody goes through ups and downs in life," Daly said. "Mine just happen to be talked about a lot."

Daly's script is still hard to believe.

He won the '91 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate, driving through the night to Indiana to replace Nick Price, then introducing his grip-it-and-rip-it style. After a tour suspension, divorce and drinking problem, he won the '95 British Open at storied St. Andrews in a four-hole playoff.

That was followed by more of the same -- a drinking binge, a divorce, another trip to rehab. Daly won the BMW International Open in Germany in September 2001, but some thought his time on the PGA Tour was over.

Not many paid attention to the end of last year when Daly won the Korean Open, the unofficial Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational, and the Three-Tour Challenge with Peter Jacobsen and Mark Calcavecchia.

It wasn't much, but it was something to build on.

"Peter Jacobsen told me, 'No matter what happens, the talent never goes away,"' Daly said.

Daly has been written off before.

He always seems to come back and write another chapter in an amazing story.

"What he's done to his body on his own, and then with some of the bad issues that came up -- it wasn't even his own doing -- for him to get through all that and still succeed is pretty impressive," Woods said.

The only trouble Woods gets in is off the tee, and that was the case Sunday.

The defending champion made a strong charge to get within two shots of the lead, but then missed four straight fairways and dropped two shots, closing with a 69 to finish in a tie for 10th, two shots out of the playoff.

The nine-year drought on the PGA Tour wasn't the only thing that made this win so special to Daly.

"I've won two majors," he said. "Nothing can take that away, but I've never won a tournament that Tiger has been in the field. That feels good."

Daly wasn't out to prove anything to anyone but himself, although he had plenty of inspiration.

His 11-year-old daughter, Shynah, called him Saturday from Florida and told him, "Daddy, you've got to win."

"I said, 'What are you doing, Shynah? Are you betting the kids at school, or what?"' Daly said. "It's great for them when they go to school. 'My Daddy won again.' That's going to feel good for them and me."

Who would have believed it?

[Drbio]

Great for him! I just hope he didn't go out and buy a sixpack to celebrate.

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Drbio
Great for him! I just hope he didn't go out and buy a sixpack to celebrate.

I have a bad feeling that he did just that.