Callaway continues unwavering support of Daly

When John Daly was down on his luck and up to his ears in gambling debts, Ely Callaway gave him unwavering support. That hasn't changed, even after a season of peculiar behavior on the golf course.

There was the six-putt from 8 feet for a 10 on the 18th hole in the Memorial, which caused Daly to walk off the course. Two weeks later, Daly swatted a moving ball with his putter for a 10 in the final round of the U.S. Open, ripped the USGA and said he would never play another Open. He later apologized.

He had an 82 in the Irish Open, then decided to skip the British Open and take time off until the PGA Championship next week.

Daly, a recovering alcoholic, went to Callaway's headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., last week to work on equipment and chat with the 80-year-old founder.

What did Callaway tell him? Essentially, keep up the good work.

``Fundamentally, I told him I thought he ought to feel pretty good about himself,'' Callaway said. ``He is probably -- in my book -- going through one of the most difficult recovery periods any alcoholic has gone through.

``He's trying to recover on the stage of one of the more stressful, difficult games on earth, and be a champion in front of millions,'' he said. ``I don't know of anybody who has ever tried to do that.''

Callaway put an end to speculation the company considered dropping Daly. The contract runs through the end of 2001.

``Our support of him depends on a great degree to which he's trying to recover, and upon the terms of his contract, which is pretty clear,'' Callaway said. ``He's not to drink. He is trying hard, and we intend to support him.''

MARK IT DOWN

Now that Mark O'Meara has capitalized on winning two major championships last year, he is thinking about scaling back.

``I don't feel I'm out to prove anything when I go out and play now,'' said O'Meara, whose steady, solid play on the PGA Tour was never fully appreciated until he won the Masters and British Open.

``I'm going to play this year and next year, and then I'm going to back off and do more things with my family.''

He has yet to win this year, largely because he has traveled the globe while cashing in on his fame -- in Japan, in Germany, in Dubai, and more stops planned. Still, O'Meara has paid his dues. And it's not like he is a 25-year-old resting on his laurels.

``Now is my time to shine,'' O'Meara said. ``I don't need to worry about burning myself out. I need to think about trying to capitalize on what happened last year, and I'm trying to do that. If somebody sits me down in the media room and says, 'You should not have done that,' my banker says I should, and my wife says I should.''

SUPERSTITIONS

Dawn Coe-Jones is not one who puts a lot of stock in superstitions. Only two strokes out of the lead going into the final round of the du Maurier, Coe-Jones was told that fellow Canadian Lorie Kane wears a Maple Leaf or something red.

``I'll have to see what's clean in the suitcase -- pull it out, give it a lick and a promise and I'm on my way,'' she said. ``I've been out here 16 years, and I realize that eating the same breakfast, driving the same way, going in the same bathroom stall doesn't amount to anything.''

VAN DE VELDE FANS

The volume of mail is not quite as large as when Greg Norman had a 78 in the final round of the 1996 Masters, but Jean Van de Velde is encouraged by the content.

``I haven't received one letter saying, 'You stupid idiot,''' he said last week in Ireland.

After his logic-defying triple-bogey on the 18th hole cost him the British Open, and his self-deprecating humor that followed, Van de Velde is likely to become a folk hero, especially in Chicago next week for the PGA Championship.

He retreated to his hometown in southwest France after leaving Carnoustie, but the mail found him anyway. One letter came from a man in England who wrote on the address, ``Jean Van de Velde, southwest France.''

Then, he cut out a picture of Van de Velde standing in Barry's Burn, attached it to the envelope and drew an arrow with the words, ``That's him!''

SORENSTAM SIESTA

While Karrie Webb was winning her first major and cementing her status as the best woman player in the world, Annika Sorenstam was resting at her home in Lake Tahoe.

How can a three-time player of the year skip a major?

``She is very, very tired,'' said her agent, Mark Steinberg at IMG. ``She needs at least two weeks off to recharge her batteries. This was the only time to grab two weeks.''

The decision was perplexing to a lot of players.

``You only get four shots at a major,'' Juli Inkster said. ``I know I'd never take a major off, but it's her life.''

Sorenstam needed time to prepare for the British Open, a major in the eyes of European players, and the Compaq Open, equally important because it's played in her native Sweden.

When did Sorenstam's batteries lose their charge? Perhaps making appearance money while playing in Japan the week before the du Maurier. Steinberg defends that decision by saying Sorenstam would have caused an even bigger flap had she backed out of a contract.

``She didn't know she would hit a wall,'' Steinberg said.

He attributes some of her fatigue to moving to a new home on a golf course in Orlando, Fla., where Sorenstam practices and plays casual rounds during her weeks away from golf.

DIVOTS

Randy Smith, swing coach for Justin Leonard and the head pro at Royal Oaks Golf Club in Dallas, will have a 24-hour teaching marathon for the 16th straight year starting on Friday. ... Tammie Green finished at 1-over 289 in the du Maurier, not bad under the circumstances. It was her first week away from her daughter, Tina Marie, who was born Dec. 3. ``I'm ready to be home,'' Green said. ... Acushnet Co. has laid off 150 employees from its Titleist and Cobra divisions. ... Hank Kuehne will make his professional debut in the Sprint International -- the same week of the U.S. Amateur, which he won last year.

STAT OF THE WEEK

According to the Alta Vista search engine, Tiger Woods' name pops up 31,621 times on the Web.

FINAL WORD

``I'm glad this was only two days. I don't think I could have handled an 88.'' -- David Feherty, after rounds of 66 and 77 in the Fred Couples Invitational.

AP