He’s one of the great train wrecks of all time. He’s also a champion golfer, gambler, alcoholic, and once again, T.V. personality.
John Daly’s new show on The Golf Channel, “Being John Daly”, is like the rest of his life in the spotlight. I can’t stop watching. And I know I’m not the only one. There’s something about Daly’s quest that is mesmerizing. Like many of us, he’s just trying to get by. Just trying to find something that works, and not fall apart.
The show chronicles his 2010 PGA season, which is probably his last attempt to resurrect his career. He says he’s ready. With the help of a lap band surgery, Daly has shed almost 100 pounds. He says this year his committment to golf is 100%. He’s got a new body, a new girlfriend, and a new outlook. The problem is, it looks as if he’s got the same golf game he’s had for the last 15 years.
John hasn’t been a member of the PGA Tour in years. He’s playing solely on the grace of sponsors exemptions. And he’ll continue to get them, because people love him. People love him when he wins, but love him even more when he doesn’t. Daly has played in four events so far this year. He’s made the cut only once, at the little regarded Mayakoba Golf Classic in Cancun Mexico. The world’s top players weren’t even there, and the best he could muster is a tie for 67th after a miserable final round 81.
But it doesn’t matter. I’ll still root for John Daly. In a world that increasingly worships a misguided pursuit of perfection, we have to hope he can make it. Warts and all.
At the conclusion of the show’s first episode, a friend asks him, “John you gave up drinking and gambling, what’s left?” Without missing a beat, Daly replies, “Smoking and sex.” Let’s hope that’s all he has to deal with.
What's left? Smoking and sex.
Another great John quote was when a reporter asked why he doesn’t go to the gym? “Because they don’t let me smoke there”.