Daly takes early lead in British Open
John Daly set the target early for the rest of the field at the British Open after his opening round 66. He has always been a fan of the Old Course at St Andrews and his round could have been even better with some luck on the greens.
In recent years Daly has been known for just about everything but golf; his lap-band surgery, a night in the drunk tank at Memphis City, hanging out with Jon Gruden in the Hooters Hospitality tent at a tournament, and even writing country music songs(“All My Exes Wear Rolexes”).
Daly, 44, took advantage of the favourable weather Thursday morning and made seven birdies in his first 11 holes. He started building momentum during the first and second holes and settled into his stride with five pars in a row from the 12th. He also grabbed a birdie on the sixth, and went on to score four more from the eighth where he jumped to seven-under.
Daly’s back nine started great with a couple of birdies, but he ran into a bit of bad luck on the next five. At the 15th he had 12 feet for birdie but missed, and on the 16th his 10-footer missed the hole and slid by the right edge.
He took a bogey at the 17th— the illustrious Road Hole—though some have been protesting that it is a de facto par five. He hit a huge drive off the tee, then a decent approach, just missing the green and falling to the right. After pitching to eight feet he missed again on the left edge.
The bogey on the 17th dropped him down to six-under, and his drive off the tee for the 18th was close enough to the green to get his hopes up, however he couldn’t make the final 10 feet and finished the day with six-under 66. This is Daly’s fourth 66 of the season. Daly also shot a 66 at the 1993 British Open during the second round at Royal St. George’s.
Dressed in surrealistic golf attire, that is, a blue sweater vest, pink polo, and purple paisley pants, Daly attacked the softened greens, the result of Wednesday night rain.
“You have to be aggressive because the greens are pretty slow,” Daly said after his round. “I left some out there, but I’m happy with my driving.”
Daly had told reporters after the round that his rib and hip injuries had prevented him from extensive practice before the tournament begun, but that he was feeling much healthier and gaining his confidence.
The rain on Wednesday cancelled the Champions Challenge, a four hole pre-tournament game played by former Open winners. Daly was the most notably disappointed, and wanted very much to win the four-hole exhibition- looks like he decided to take a shot at winning the Open instead.
Daly has won five PGA Tour events. His career kicked off with the 1991 PGA Championship victory, and four years later in 1995 Daly won the British Open. The ’95 Open was also hosted by St Andrews, and Daly had a playoff with Costantino Rocca to secure his victory. He won the tournament by four strokes. Daly didn’t win again until 2004 at the Buick Invitational.
Since this year’s season began, Daly has made the cut in eight of the 14 worldwide events he has participated in. He hasn’t seen the inside of the top 20 yet, and his best finish was a tie for 22nd at the Nationwide Tour in his home state.
Yesterday’s round set up Daly for his best finish in a major since he tying for 15th at St Andrews in 2005. He will need another day of near-perfect weather conditions and a lot of focus if he is to maintain his standings.
Tags: