Kevin Merfeld, Chipping In: Daly needs strong showing at Frys.com to secure PGA Tour card
John Daly moseyed around the 10th tee at CordeValle Golf Club, idly waiting for the green to clear.
The 10th hole is 425 yards.
Was he going for it?
The shoulder strap on Daly's golf bag reads: "GRIP IT N' RIP IT." He has been called Long John since he burst on the scene in 1991 with his long-shot win at the PGA Championship, hitting it a country mile while conquering Crooked Stick Golf Club.
But Daly hasn't won since 2004, which is why he finds himself at the Frys.com Open, a Fall Series event that caters to players fighting to keep or earn their card.
Daly, 44, lost his card in 2006, and he's once again looking up at the seminal 125th spot on the money list. To earn his tour card, he must finish among the top 125. He currently sits 195th with two Fall Series tournaments on his schedule.
"If I were to win one, it would make the year really a lot better," Daly said Monday. "I've put a lot of work into my game, I just really haven't gotten anything out of it. It'd be great to end the year with something good."
Daly has made 12 of 18 cuts so far, but he only has one top 40 finish. He needs to earn at least $550,000 in the next two weeks to gain full playing status next year.
It's a long shot, but if anyone has that club in the bag, it's Daly. When the 10th green cleared Monday, Daly took dead aim at it, cutting the corner on the dogleg right. With a 20 mph wind at his back, Daly uncorked his patented backswing that points to the ground like he's swinging a fishing pole, and let it rip.
His tee shot drifted left, a big, sweeping hook. It was in play, but it missed the green.
So, was he going for it?
"It's only a par 4," Daly quipped to a round of laughs.
Another par-4 he will be attacking this week is No. 17, which plays 359 yards, but could be shortened to 290 during the week. Monday, Daly's drive from the back tees finished five feet short of the green.
"The one a lot of guys are going to go for is No. 17," Daly said. "That's going to be a fun one."
The Frys.com Open is running a promotion at No. 17, encouraging players to find their inner Happy Gilmore and go for the green. Every time a player makes a birdie, beers at the concession stand next to the green are half price ($3) for the next five minutes.
It sounds like a Daly tribute hole: long drives and beer.
But the former Wild Thing is a now a self-proclaimed Mild Thing. Daly had a reality show on the Golf Channel this year, but instead of portraying the type of lifestyle that caused the PGA Tour to suspend him for six months in 2008 Daly's disciplinary file ran 456 pages the show focused on a serious, sleeker and sober Daly determined to resurrect his career.
For him nowadays, wild is wearing his Loudmouth pants, which are, as loud as an airport runway. Monday, Daly wore what must have been a lost Van Gogh canvas of the Amazon Rain Forest, with swirls and splashes of green and red and yellow and blue.
And for one day in July, it was as if Daly had resurrected his career. In the opening round of the British Open, the man with one win in the last 15 years turned back the clock. For one day, Daly was that guy who won the 1995 British, the one with the free-flowing mullet and a plain Reebok sweatshirt and a game that could bring any course to its knees.
Through 11 holes, he was 7-under. He finished the round 6-under 66, good enough to tie for third.
"In my 20 years on Tour, it was the only day I felt like I left a 58 or 59 out on the table if I would have made any putts," Daly said.
He ended the tournament 1-over, and his best finish since then was a 41st-place tie worth $17,365.50.
"It's been a tough year," Daly said. "I just haven't scored as well as I wish I could have. I've given myself some opportunities making those cuts. Usually when I do that I can get a couple top 10s. It just didn't happen this year."
Could it happen soon, like this weekend?
"It's close," Daly said. "I'm really close, I think. It's been a long year. I just wish the year was starting right now."
Kevin Merfeld can be reached at kmerfeld@montereyherald.com
