ShareThisJohn Daly is back in the news, and for a change it doesn't involve drinking, gambling, smoking or passing out at Hooters. Instead, he is coming off a second-place finish at the Italian Open, where he picked up a solid payday and looked a bit more like the guy we once thought would become one of the sport's more lovable characters.
When he won the PGA Championship in 1991, he came out of nowhere to do it. He seemed like an "aw, shucks" kind of fellow -- one who could hit the ball a ton and occasionally putt for dough.
Four years after his PGA victory he won the British Open -- proving he was more than a one-trick pony -- but it wasn't long before the "lovable" tag became a distant memory.
There were domestic disputes, gambling problems and drinking. Lots and lots and lots of drinking.
While some people apparently found it amusing, there's really nothing funny about being a drunk. Yet Daly wasn't going to let golf get in the way of a good time.
The low points are too numerous to mention, but last year was one of the lowest when he "appeared intoxicated" outside a Hooter's restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C., and was taken to jail to sleep it off.
Daly even went on to say it was a misunderstanding and that he actually sleeps with his eyes open after he's been on a bender.
The PGA didn't buy it (who would?) and issued a six-month suspension.
Before last weekend when he made headlines with his golf game, he was last seen at Augusta hawking his wares during The Masters. He figured if he couldn't play for money there, maybe he could at least make some outside the gates.
And of course people showed up in droves, yukking it up with him and getting their picture taken alongside their anti-hero.
Time after time Daly has said he intends to turn his life around, and he's singing that tune yet again.
He's lost weight -- thanks to gastric band surgery -- and insists his heavy drinking days are behind him. Now, he says, he can only "sip" whiskey and basically has to stay away from beer.
But I'm not sure Daly has ever really caught on to the fact that he has a drinking problem.
After two trips to rehab, the logical step would be to stay away from the stuff.
But he can't or he won't, and I've yet to encounter alcoholics who are able to successfully transform themselves into "social drinkers."
I'm all for second chances -- even third, fourth and fifth chances in some cases.
I'd like to see Daly get his act together not because I'm a fan, but because he has to if he wants to be more than just a punch line.
After all he's put his body through, staying away from the bottle is about more than just good health.
It's about survival.
(Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsons(at)independentmail.com.)
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