Daly shines in first round of hometown event  Special to PGATOUR.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- When last seen on the eve of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, John Daly was jammin' with a rock band -- Dr. Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster -- in a giant hospitality tent at TPC Southwind.  John Daly made five consecutive birdies during his first round on Thursday. (Ehrmann/WireImage)
Among the guest participants were Tommy Thayer, the lead guitarist from KISS, and Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Championship winner from Memphis. Daly closed the show, playing guitar and soulfully singing a Bob Dylan classic -- "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Daly left the tent with family members, pushing a toddler in a stroller. Less than 12 hours later, he was on the leaderboard of the 50th PGA TOUR event in Memphis after a burst of five consecutive birdies -- getting into position to possibly knock on a door that hasn't opened to him lately. Daly shot even-par 70 and was tied for eighth at the end of the day. "It's nice to go hit the ball halfway decent," said Daly, 41, a two-time winner of major championships -- the 1991 PGA and the 1995 British Open. "It's been one of those years when I'm starting to feel good, something goes wrong." In a brutal day for golf, with wind whipping and gusting across TPC Southwind's 7,239-yard layout, Daly persevered, refusing to fold after an early triple-bogey. There were reports of gusts of more than 40 mph. "It was survival today," he said. "It was hard to pick a club. All of us were struggling a little bit." Daly knows about struggles and survival, on and off the course. His ups-and-downs have been well documented. Daly struggled Thursday, too, but he was pleased with his perseverance and the result. "After making triple-bogey on my third hole, even doing that, I could have kept it under par," he said. "I was just trying to hang in there, which is all you could do today. It was nice to run off five birdies in a row and get some confidence in the putter, which I haven't had in a long time." Daly had 27 putts -- nine fewer than regulation. It's been three years since Daly last won on TOUR, and it took a sponsor's exemption to get him into this tournament that's played within a 3-iron shot of his home in the Southwind residential community. "It's always been great here," said Daly, who also claims Dardanelle, Ark, as home. "Arkansas is my heart, and Memphis, too. I've been here since '89. It's great to have all the fans and the support... people coming out to watch me play year-in and year-out. It does add a little pressure because you want to do so well for everybody. "We'll just go out and play and, hopefully, do the best we can." If Daly was thinking about winning, he wouldn't say after his round of five birdies, two bogeys and the triple. Mainly, he was just pleased to be feeling better -- and playing better. The power-hitting gallery favorite has played in just 11 TOUR events this year. He's had only one top 25 finish. He's missed five cuts and withdrawn three times. He's earned $106,808 -- 177th on the year's money list. He finished 193rd in earnings in 2006 with $192,134. In his most recent event, the AT&T Classic in Atlanta, which he won in 1994 and thus was exempt into the field, Daly was forced to withdraw because of a shoulder injury. "We popped it back in as soon as I got home from Atlanta," he said. "I haven't really done much since then. I've played a couple of times. I've chipped and putted a lot." During U. S. Open qualifying on Monday at Colonial Country Club, Daly said he was only 3-over par through 29 holes, but knew he wasn't in qualifying range. He said he and his playing partner agreed to call it a day.
There was apparently no such thought Thursday after making triple-bogey. Daly started the first round on No. 10 and found the water twice on the par-4 No. 12. His birdie barrage started with a 9-foot putt at the par-4 No. 13. He holed out from the sand from 53 feet on the par-3 No. 14. He sank a 5 ½ foot putt on the par-4 No. 15. He two-putted from 38 feet on the par-5 No. 16, and completed the surge with a three on tough 17th hole from six feet. Daly lost two shots on the front nine with bogeys at Nos. 2 and 5. Asked about his outlook for the next three rounds, Daly hedged. His best Memphis finish in 16 previous events was seventh in 2001. "It's hard to say. I've got to get some rhythm in my swing," he said. "I haven't been able to play 2-3 weeks in a row this year like I'm used to doing. I just hope I can continue to putt halfway decent and hit some decent shots." When asked how nice it would be to be in contention on Sunday amid a throng of hometown fans, Daly smiled with the memory of his final day pairing in the last group with eventual champ Bob Estes in 2001. Daly is an Arkansas Razorback and Estes is a Texas Longhorn. "I remember that year me and Bob Estes went out and there were 15,000 screaming Razorbacks calling the Hogs and maybe two Longhorn fans," he said, smiling. "If we could get that kind of atmosphere again, it would be great." |
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