The other night I had difficulty sleeping. So I went downstairs and watched John Daly’s new reality program on my PVR. No problem falling asleep after that. Anyway, that experience, coupled with the revelations that Daly has been suspended by the PGA Tour multiple times, was the basis for my latest Sympatico column. Here’s a taste:
Fat or thin, drunk or sober, on the course or off it, John Daly is a train wreck.
This week he was a disaster and he didn’t even play golf. Instead a reality television series based on the golfer’s life kicked off on the Golf Channel. With its bizarre mix of pop-philosophy and images of Daly chain-smoking while discussing the difficulties of packing the appropriate clothing for a tournament, Being John Daly was equally as confounding as its subject. We learned plenty about what Daly’s latest girlfriend thinks about his comeback, while the recently thin golfer sat on a couch smoking, played guitar while smoking or hit the occasional golf shot between puffs. If this is John Daly’s reality, it is far from compelling.
On the other hand, Daly’s life sounded more interesting in a story in the Florida Times-Union tale about the golfer’s trouble with the PGA Tour over his 19-year career. The paper, which was sued by Daly for libel, gained access to his PGA Tour disciplinary file as part of the court case, which the golfer lost and has been ordered to pay costs of $272,000. The file shows a string of strange incidents involving Daly, from a case where he swore at another golfer months before he won the 1991 PGA Championship, through to 2008 when the golfer passed out in front of a Hooters and spent the night in jail, eliciting a suspension from the PGA Tour. And then there’s the case where Daly once allegedly tried to run down a U.S. federal official at a U.S. Open. According to the file, he’s been ordered into rehab seven times by the PGA Tour.
The full column can be found here.
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
I’ve always liked JD.
Why bash a guy who is trying to turn things around.
Woods is out there doing what and who he wants and they all seem to think that is fine.
I love how all that support the guy say you should feel bad and have sympathy for those trying to turn their lives around. Guess what..i did..the first 20 or 30 times…everyone has a limit..mine was exceeded. Despite all the claims of being broke he lives in a giant house, owns a tour bus that is worth a million etc. the guy is not broke.
Besides..if somebody gets help for their disease aka alcoholism..then i feel bad for them and root them on..but he has always said he wont..he tried it once, failed then said he could control his alcohol intake…uh huh..just like abusive guys say they can stop and control it etc…no you cannot..you either get help or you dont..he chose no..he turned down a lifetime support plan endorsement from the late eli callaway that would have set him up for life…so why run around finding sponsors all the time john? when you could have had one sure one? why? because eli said that jd had to stop drinking and john said no. that sums it up. no symphathy from me..not anymore..it ran out a long time ago.
for that last time.. STOP with the JD bashing. seriously. so boring.
I wonder if he has actually played Thundering Waters? I also wonder who thought it was a good idea to have him try to hit golf balls across Niagara Falls? That was a miserable mess. I also wonder why I actually wasted an hour watching him try to make that impossible shot!!!