John Daly, a few years ago, was asked why he was popular. Although it is now more than 30 years since he won the second of his two major championships, it remains a draw.
But Daly was not sure of the answer.
“I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t know,” Daly said. “I think Chad does a great job with our T-shirt companies with the sayings on it; the little kids love it. I don’t know, maybe because of the beard they think I’m really Santa Claus, but Justin Thomas told me I’m Bad Santa, so that’s out the window. I have no idea.”
The reporter tried again, asking Daly to explain the connection he has with the fans.
“I think because there are no skeletons in my closet,” Daly said. “If I’ve messed up, I’ll honestly say I’ve messed up, and I think the fans like that. I don’t think I’m — I’m not looking over my shoulder; are they going to know about this or that? Everyone knows everything about me on this tour — my life, my ex-wives, everything — and it’s out there, so there’s nothing to hide really.
“I think, I hope, it’s honesty.”
Was he happy that he approached his life this way?
“Yeah,” Daly said. “My mom would have rolled out of her grave if I didn’t.”
This is a response behind its popularity.
Below is perhaps another.
This week, Daly is playing the Regions Tradition, the second major of the year for the 50-and-over crowd. Through two rounds at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Alabama, Daly is three times over. But a moment during his practice round on Wednesday is a must-see, though you may have already seen it — as of Friday afternoon, a video by what happened it had garnered 1.6 million views on X.
It was shared by @alabamabart, who wrote: “John Daly hit it close on 17 and picked a little guy out of the crowd. He calmly stepped up and made the layup. Might be the best thing you see today.” A good summary. In the 21-second video, Daly and a boy walk toward Daly’s ball, which appears to be just over 5 feet away. The boy rolled the ball, looked at the hole, paused briefly, then set up Daly’s putt. He looked up.
He made it happen, which you can watch below.
Daly raised his arms. Daly and the boy hugged.
And the fans around the green cheered.
(If you’re interested in more from Daly, the PGA Tour Champions X feed shared another video featuring Daly at the Regions Tradition. This one, which you can watch hereshows Daly covering Bob Dylan’s “Knockin on Heaven’s Door” — and he throws in some golf-themed lyrics.)
