He was just 3-over par in the first round of the U.S. Open when he hit one drive out of bounds, two into the Pacific Ocean, an approach over the sea wall and onto the beach, didn't get the drop he wanted and had to play left-handed, took 14 and then felt like quitting.
So he did.
"Get me to the airport, fast," he was heard saying after signing for an 83.
How fair was that to everyone else?
"The worst part about John Daly withdrawing is he left two guys to play by themselves,'' Billy Mayfair said. "It was already a 5 1/2 -hour round, and it's even longer for a twosome. That's unfortunate.''
Mayfair was not in Daly's group, but he was not immune to bad shots. He failed to break 80 for the first time in 29 rounds at a U.S. Open, but returned the next day for a 76.
"I had an 83, too,'' Mayfair said. "I felt bad for the two guys who had to watch me shoot it.''
Did he ever consider going home early?
"I'll play unless I'm so hurt I can't swing a golf club,'' Mayfair said. "I would play even if we couldn't finish up until Monday. But that's what John wanted to do, and we're all independent contractors out here.''
Then there's Joe Daley, who also had an 83.
He quit his job as a credit manager in 1992 with dreams of playing professional golf. At age 39, Daley has spent only two years on the PGA Tour and played his first U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
He returned for the second round and shot a 69, but missed the cut.
OUT OF BUSINESS
Nike may have Tiger Woods, but Callaway has the King.
When the Arnold Palmer Golf Co. decided this week to cease operating and sell off its assets, Callaway Golf moved in and snatched up perhaps the most valuable asset of all -- Palmer himself.
Callaway acquired the endorsement rights to Palmer's name and image to promote its ball and clubs, a deal that Golf World Business said would run through 2012. Callaway did not acquire the Palmer line of clubs.
Palmer has been using the new Callaway ball since February.
"Over the next few months, I will be analyzing all of Callaway Golf's other equipment, and I fully expect to find clubs that I will like very much,'' Palmer said.
Over the past couple of years, Arnold Palmer Golf has gone private, consolidated operations and re-launched its brands. CEO Cindy Davis said it is operating "about break even,'' but that dissolving the brands made economic sense.
Square Two Golf, a New Jersey-based club and apparel company aimed at women, has agreed to acquire NancyLopezGolf, a division of the Palmer Golf. Square Two also gets promotional rights to Lopez, the Arnold Palmer of women's golf.
Palmer officials hope to have a buyer for another product, the Hot Z bag, by the end of July.
JUSTIN FOR HIRE
Former British Open champion Justin Leonard did more than just lend his name to an American Junior Golf Association tournament in Dallas.
During the week before the U.S. Open, Leonard was a shuttle driver for players between the course and hotel, hung banners, handed out trophies and even filled in divots.
"When I got out there Wednesday, they were finishing up play and a bunch of people were going out to fill in divots with sand,'' Leonard said. "So I went out there with about 15 juniors and the AJGA staff and filled in divots. I got fired from the Transportation Committee and was put on the Divot Committee.''
It was the second year of the Justin Leonard/Deloitte&Touche Junior Team Championship. Plans for next year already are under way.
"I just have fun, and I really don't have to do a whole lot,'' he said.
Except fill in divots.
OPEN, EH?
The Canadian Open will be played at Angus Glen Golf Club in 2002, the first time since 1974 it has gone to a Toronto-area course other than Glen Abbey.
It's all part of a plan by the Royal Canadian Golf Association to pump new life into what had been a prestigious stop on the PGA Tour. A year ago, only two of the top 10 and 12 of the top 30 on the '99 money list were in the field.
The purse this year has been increased from $2.5 million to $3.1 million, and the RCGA plans to move its national championship around the country -- Glen Abbey this September, Royal Montreal in 2001, Angus Glen in 2002.
Also, officials are lobbying PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem for a summer date, which would allow them to move the tournament to spectacular venues in Alberta.
ULTIMATE PAR 3
With a par on the 17th hole at Lincoln Park in San Francisco last week, Mike Langella concluded the longest par-3 contest in history.
In a span of 15 days, the 26-year-old glue salesman logged 11,000 miles while playing a par 3 in every continental state plus the District of Columbia. Chipshot.com agreed to donate $1,000 for every birdie and $250 for every par.
Langella wound up with 25 pars and two birdies -- one on Hal Sutton home course in Shreveport, La.
He raised $8,250 to be divided between The First Tee and Prevent Blindness America. Langella's father suffers from Macular Degeneration, a disease that eventually will make him blind.
DIVOTS
USGA official Tom Meeks predicted last week that the current PGA Tour leader in greens hit in regulation would take a beating. That would be Tiger Woods, who wound up hitting 71 percent of his greens at Pebble Beach. That brought his overall tour average down to 73.8 percent. ... Adam Scott, the 19-year-old Australian who had three top 10s on the Australasian and European tours this year, will make his professional debut Thursday in the European Compaq Grand Prix in England. ... Forest Oaks will no longer be home of the Greater Greensboro Classic starting in 2004. The Greensboro Jaycees, who have run the PGA Tour event for 62 years, closed a $1.7 million purchase of 227 acres to build a new course.
STAT OF THE WEEK
In 16 professional rounds, Tiger Woods has never had worse than a 74 in the U.S. Open.
FINAL WORD
"Not mine.'' -- John Daly, when asked prior to the U.S. Open what he thought would be the winning score.
