by Harry Keogh

Created on: April 12, 2011   Last Updated: April 21, 2011

Born on 28th April 1966, American PGA golfer John Daly is one of the more instantly recognisable players in the professional golfing world. His larger than life attitude and unconventional antics, both on and off the course have earned him a certain amount of fame and notoriety amongst his peers and fans.

• Golfing Career

After turning professional in 1987 at the age of 21, John had his first victory on tour in the same year with a win at the Missouri Open, and following this achieved wins in 1990 at the Ben Hogan Classic in Utah, along with 2 other wins that same year. Following this, his big break came about in 1991 when he joined the PGA tour and went on to win his first major competition, the PGA championship and become named Rookie of the Year for 1991. Due to this win, John became an instant hit and built up a cult following amongst the fans, and very quickly became one of the most recognisable figures on the tour. Since this, John went on to win in 1992 at the B.C. Open and in 1994 at the Bellsouth Classic, along with pulling off a shock win at the 1995 British Open in St. Andrews. Following this, it wasn’t until 2004 before John brought home the victory again at the Buick Invitational. After this, John has not achieved any other wins in major competitions, and recently due to his weight reduction surgery has lost a lot of his former confidence and physical power on the course.

• Golfing Style

Since his joining the PGA tour, John has been accredited on numerous occasions for his ability to out-drive most of his rivals, and on a record breaking 11 occasions has been awarded the Driving Distance Crown. He has been known to quite often drive the ball in excess of 350 yards from the tee and most golfing seasons has driving averages around the 300 yard marker. Unfortunately John’s accuracy off the tee on average has not always rivalled his distance and this would sometimes lead him into some unusual and awkward spots to play his second shot from.

• Off the Course

As well as John’s flamboyant style on the course he has lead a life of relative excess as well. He has for years fought against alcoholism and this problem has sometimes spilled over on the course causing a number of incidents where John will blow up on the course, and on occasions even walk off the course during a competition. Along with his alcoholism, John has also suffered from a major gambling addiction which left him in the region of $50 to $60 million in debt. He has been paying this off with the money from various public appearances and sponsorship money. Asides from his problems off the course, John has also managed to pursue a career in the music industry with his autobiographical album “My Life” which featured guest appearances from country music legends such as Willie Nelson and Johnny Lee.

Despite his flaws John will always remain a firm favourite within the golfing world, and even though he may not be the greatest golfer of all time, he is certainly a unique character that has and will continue to help introduce a large number of new fans to the game of golf.

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