John Daly's Wife Says His Knife Attack Tale Is Lie to Cover Up Sexual Assault

by Mulligan Stu on Jun 12, 2007 12:11 PM EDT

Just when you thought John Daly's life couldn't seem any more bizarre:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- John Daly assaulted his wife and then covered up the incident by scratching his own face and claiming she attacked him, Sherrie Daly alleges in court papers filed Monday and obtained by the Commercial Appeal.

John Daly told authorities on Friday that his wife tried to stab him with a steak knife, and the golfer had red marks on his cheeks when he showed up to play in the Stanford St. Jude Championship.

When deputies arrived at the Daly home, located on the TPC Southwind golf course where the tournament was being held, Sherrie Daly and the couple's children were not there. Deputies also could not find the knife he claimed she used.

No criminal charges were filed, but John Daly sought a protective order against Sherrie Daly to prohibit any contact with him or their 3-year-old son.

According to court documents, she is also seeking a restraining order as well as exclusive use and possession of the Southwind home, custody of the children and continued financial support from John Daly, The Commercial Appeal reported on its Web site late Monday night.

That from the AP report.

Daly's wife went on to claim that Daly had been drinking heavily that night and causing problems before getting home. Once home, Daly awakened his wife, she alleges, and sexually assaulted her, "causing unspecified injuries."

"She then called 911," the report states, "and took their son and a son by a previous relationship to a neighbor's house."

We've heard about police arriving at the Daly home after John called them, but not yet of any 911 call from the wife.

Daly denied the allegations in comments to the Memphis newspaper:

"It's just not true, Bub. It's just not true. That's all I can say," he told The Commercial Appeal.

Asked if he planned to file criminal charges, he said, "Let's just go with that. Nah. It's just not true. She did what she did, and that's all I can say right now."

It's pretty sad when you're hoping that this situation turns out to "only" be a married couple trading charges as a prelude to a divorce and custody battle. That's a bad thing, but not nearly as bad as sexual assaults or knife attacks.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal report includes more allegations from Sherrie of Daly's past behavior:

John and Sherrie Daly were married July 29, 2001, in Las Vegas, seven weeks after they met at a golf tournament. It was her first marriage and Daly's fourth.

They both filed for divorce last October, but attempted to reconcile, according to her petition, after Daly promised to stop abusing whiskey, gambling and carousing with other women.

In her petition Monday, Sherrie Daly said her husband has continued to abuse alcohol and that he is addicted to gambling and sex.

She said that in January while they were traveling in San Diego, Daly became drunk on vodka and became so enraged at her that he pulled "a large portion of hair from her head while throwing her head against the wall." She said he also tore her shirt and bra and broke a telephone, all in the presence of her son.

Sherrie Daly said her husband continued to drink when they traveled to Arizona and that he had to be taken by ambulance to an emergency room after blacking out from alcohol.

The alleged emergency room visit seems like something else that reporters should be able to track down, if true.

In Daly's filings, he noted that his wife is a convicted felon (money laundering) and accused her of "inappropriate marital conduct."