Romeo Delight
01-27-2006, 12:44 AM
http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/5282192
SAN DIEGO (AP) - John Daly blew a trail of smoke down the fairway with each puff from a cigarette, walking briskly after each shot and thrilling the crowd at the end with a 40-foot birdie putt to shoot 69 on the tough South Course at Torrey Pines in the first round of the Buick Invitational, seemingly without a care in the world.
Far from it.
The day before making his PGA Tour debut, Daly learned that his wife was being taken to jail to serve a five-month sentence on a federal charge involving a drug ring and an illegal gambling operation.
"It was just out of the clear blue," Daly said. "It was very tacky on the prosecuting attorney's part. Usually, you get two or three weeks so we can at least prepare, but he must not have kids. He's not a very nice guy, anyway."
Sherrie Miller Daly, his fourth wife, was first indicted in 2003, a few days after she gave birth to a son. She pleaded guilty in November 2004 to a charge of conspiracy to structure a transaction to evade the reporting requirement.
If John Daly was distracted by his wife's beginning her prison sentence, he didn't show it on Thursday. (Chris Park / Associated Press)
Daly said she was taken to the county jail in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday, and a spokeswoman at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington said Sherrie Daly is scheduled to be released June 23.
Daly, a two-time major champion who won the Buick Invitational two years ago, said he would have withdrawn from the tournament had he known this was coming.
"I couldn't get there in time. That was the tough thing," Daly said. "If I had known this two or three weeks ago, I wouldn't be there. But there was nothing I could do."
He said his 2-year-old son, John, would join him next week in Phoenix, and that his mother-in-law would help with Austin, Sherrie Daly's son from a previous marriage. Daly also said Joe and Maggie Hardy, owners of 84 Lumber who have an endorsement contract with Daly, have offered to keep Austin at their resort in western Pennsylvania.
It was another bizarre chapter in the life of Daly, one of the most popular figures in golf because of how he deals publicly with so many personal problems - the divorces, two trips to alcohol rehab and one suspension from the tour because of his rash behavior.
He won the '91 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick as the ninth alternate, then turned in another surprise in 1995 at St. Andrews when he won the British Open in a playoff.
Daly has one PGA Tour victory since then, two years ago at Torrey Pines. Despite the turmoil at home, he managed to birdie his first three holes, survived a few bogeys down the stretch and finished with his long birdie putt on the 18th. He walked off the green to typical cheers.
Asked how he put his personal life aside, Daly offered a wry grin.
"You don't," he said. "I'm just out here."
SAN DIEGO (AP) - John Daly blew a trail of smoke down the fairway with each puff from a cigarette, walking briskly after each shot and thrilling the crowd at the end with a 40-foot birdie putt to shoot 69 on the tough South Course at Torrey Pines in the first round of the Buick Invitational, seemingly without a care in the world.
Far from it.
The day before making his PGA Tour debut, Daly learned that his wife was being taken to jail to serve a five-month sentence on a federal charge involving a drug ring and an illegal gambling operation.
"It was just out of the clear blue," Daly said. "It was very tacky on the prosecuting attorney's part. Usually, you get two or three weeks so we can at least prepare, but he must not have kids. He's not a very nice guy, anyway."
Sherrie Miller Daly, his fourth wife, was first indicted in 2003, a few days after she gave birth to a son. She pleaded guilty in November 2004 to a charge of conspiracy to structure a transaction to evade the reporting requirement.
If John Daly was distracted by his wife's beginning her prison sentence, he didn't show it on Thursday. (Chris Park / Associated Press)
Daly said she was taken to the county jail in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday, and a spokeswoman at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington said Sherrie Daly is scheduled to be released June 23.
Daly, a two-time major champion who won the Buick Invitational two years ago, said he would have withdrawn from the tournament had he known this was coming.
"I couldn't get there in time. That was the tough thing," Daly said. "If I had known this two or three weeks ago, I wouldn't be there. But there was nothing I could do."
He said his 2-year-old son, John, would join him next week in Phoenix, and that his mother-in-law would help with Austin, Sherrie Daly's son from a previous marriage. Daly also said Joe and Maggie Hardy, owners of 84 Lumber who have an endorsement contract with Daly, have offered to keep Austin at their resort in western Pennsylvania.
It was another bizarre chapter in the life of Daly, one of the most popular figures in golf because of how he deals publicly with so many personal problems - the divorces, two trips to alcohol rehab and one suspension from the tour because of his rash behavior.
He won the '91 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick as the ninth alternate, then turned in another surprise in 1995 at St. Andrews when he won the British Open in a playoff.
Daly has one PGA Tour victory since then, two years ago at Torrey Pines. Despite the turmoil at home, he managed to birdie his first three holes, survived a few bogeys down the stretch and finished with his long birdie putt on the 18th. He walked off the green to typical cheers.
Asked how he put his personal life aside, Daly offered a wry grin.
"You don't," he said. "I'm just out here."