The votes are in--John Daly and Kid Rock's picture at the Buick pro-am was selected by viewers as the most memorable image of the week on last night's SportsCenter. It beat out 'Spain gives coach a toss,' '1st-place Rays celebrate,' and '(Joe) Alexander gets some rest.'
I'm all for more attention for the sport when Tiger's gone, but Spain's triumph and the D-Rays sweeping the Sox is more impressive than JD hitting a ball off of a beer can.
The drama isn't over yet. John Daly said at the Spanish Open yesterday that former swing coach Butch Harmon apologized to him over the phone for not getting the facts right about his drinking. But according to Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com, Harmon had a different story to tell...
John called me last Thursday, his opening line to me was 'I've lost all my contracts because of what you said. Can you please go on the Golf Channel and make a retraction?'
I told him that he had no one to blame but himself, that 'until you start realizing that you're the cause of all this and get some help, you're going to continue to have problems.' I told him I would be glad to help. But I wasn't going to retract anything that I said.
Butch Harmon's story seems much more realistic. Plus, it's hard to believe most of what JD says these days. He will need to do a lot more to win back the trust of his fellow tour players and fans. I wouldn't be surprised if tournament directors start cutting back the sponsors exemptions offered to JD next year.
Here's yet another example of John Daly being John Daly. JD was interviewed on "OzarksFirst" at his country club, Murder Rock. He decided to go shirtless and shoeless.
One week later...he ends up on Sportscenter, Deadspin, and Geoff Shackelford's site. Can you believe the guy still wants the media and his fans to take him seriously? It's no wonder Butch Harmon dropped him.
Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon reported on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption earlier today, that John Daly is defending himself, yet again. Before he teed off yesteray at the Zurich Classic, Daly said that former swing coach Butch Harmon got his facts wrong about his drinking. Daly added that Harmon feels 'badly about it.' Until Daly proves us wrong, Wilbon's analysis sums up what most people are thinking right now:
John Daly is troubled, and now he is in total, utter, complete denial, in my opinion.
I have been reading and hearing a lot of negative reactions to John Daly's recent behavior at the PODS Championship. Listen folks, this is nothing new. JD has been doing this for years. It wasn't until Wednesday's edition of Pardon the Interruption that I heard another form of criticism, this time, directed toward Butch Harmon. Tony Kornheiser acknowledged that Daly needs help, but said:
I thought Butch Harmon pretty cavalierly threw John Daly under the bus. I mean, they had maybe three sessions together. They’re not like Joann Woodward and Paul Newman, okay? And for him to publicly say what he did, you say that privately to John Daly. I don’t think you necessarily say that publicly.
Kornheiser's analysis is spot on. Though Harmon is one of the greatest instructors in the game, he shouldn't have gone public with the comments. At least show some consideration, and call JD first before announcing it to the entire world. Harmon has made radical statements about golf clients in the past, most notably, that Phil Mickelson can overtake Tiger Woods. I know JD is in the wrong, but Harmon needs to be a little more sensitive.
Will the drama ever end? Bob Harig reports that John Daly has been disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because he missed his pro-am tee time. Daly thought his tee time was at 9:47 a.m., not 8:40 a.m. The saddest part of the whole story is...
When Daly did not show for his tee time at the pro-am, a morning and afternoon alternate list for the pro-am was put into effect.
Fredrik Jacobson was the first alternate in the morning but had been excused due to illness. Ryuji Imada and Nick O'Hern were next on the morning alternate list, but neither was on the property, so both were declared ineligible for the tournament.
Michael Letzig is replacing Imada in the field and Peter Lonard is replacing O'Hern.
Wow, so because Daly missed his tee time, he cost two players a shot to compete this week. Imada and O'Hern should have been on property, but Daly also should have been there for his tee time. This has to be particularly disappointing for Imada, who has the opportunity to qualify for the Masters if he is able to stay in the top-10 in the FedEx Cup standings after next week's WGC-CA Championship. Imada is currently 7th in points.
It only took a little over two months, but Doug Ferguson reports that Butch Harmon has dropped John Daly as a client. Harmon, who is recognized as the world's number one instructor, officially joined forces with Daly in late January. But earlier today, Harmon said that he had seen enough of Daly's reckless behavior...
My whole goal for him was he's got to show me golf is the most important thing in his life. And the most important thing in his life is getting drunk.
He would work hard and get better, but when things don't go right, it's back to the alcohol stuff. I love this kid. He's a tremendous talent. But if he's not going to give 100 percent effort, it's a waste of my time.
What really put Harmon over the edge were Daly's actions this past weekend at the PODS Championship. Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune writes that after missing the cut, Daly spent Saturday at the Hooters Owl's Nest drinking, smoking, and eating wings...
Daly, whose best finish this year was tied for 60th in the Mayakoba Golf Classic, and his associates gave a news photographer who tried to take photos of him the middle finger. One member of Daly's group mooned the photographer, resulting in boyish laughter from his group.
The golfing Buddha also willingly autographed Trinity resident Kim Geiger's jeans, who bent over and offered her backside as his canvas.
It sounds like Harmon has left the door open for Daly to come back, but only with the proper commitment.
In all honesty, I'm a very busy person. I'm willing to help the kid, but until he helps himself and makes golf his No. 1 priority, I'm not his guy.
CBS golf analyst David Feherty appeared on The Jim Rome Show on Wednesday and talked about John Daly's recent problems. Feherty said:
"I've said to John before, if you feel like you want to talk to somebody, call me. But he is clearly in trouble, clearly in trouble. I hope that he does alright, that he doesn’t self-destruct. It’s just a dangerous path to be on. To be in the public eye as he is, and to have to perform at the level that he does, the stress and the pressure just doesn’t help when it comes to trying to find yourself again."
As re
ported two days ago, John Daly withdrew from the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on Saturday, citing a lingering rib injury suffered at last year's Honda Classic. Daly seemed to be in a great deal of pain during Friday's third round and was receiving treatment from physiotherapist Jim Weathers. Nevertheless, there have been several reports that have suggested that this might not have been the only factor in Daly's withdrawal. Several sources, including Thomas Bonk of the LA Times, have confirmed that Daly was seen partying the night before. Bonk writes:
"Daly has been a regular this week at the Hope's tournament parties. He attended two more tournament parties Friday night, including an after-party, and told one local reporter to ignore the fact that he was drinking. At the first party, Daly sang "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in a duet with Alice Cooper. Eyewitnesses said Daly was helped out of the after-party by an unidentified man."
Jemele Hill of ESPN.com sat in for Jim Rome on Jim Rome is Burning on ESPN earlier to
day, and said:
"Now, if rib injury is co-word for 'hang over', then I totally buy Daly’s excuse...Look, playing the loveable drunk was cute when Daly was in his 20s, and 30s, and now 40s, but at what point does this go from being entertaining, to just plain sad? At what point do we call Daly what he really is, an overweight, cigarette loving, hooch chugger, who made a career out of self-destructing.
Mike Wilbon said on Pardon the Interruption: "You know I’m troubled by John Daly’s behavior. I’m at a loss right now to understand his popularity, quite frankly."
