For First Time, John Daly Turned Down for Sponsor Exemption

by Mulligan Stu on Oct 27, 2007 3:25 PM EDT Comment 1 comment

John Daly was hoping to play the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Classic (formerly the Disney) next week. But a funny thing happened on Daly's way to Orlando: the tournament sponsors turned down his request for an exemption.

According to Daly, it's the first time in his career he has asked for a sponsor exemption and been declined.

john daly 2008 status The full name of the tournament is Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart, which means it was Daly's home-state Wal-Mart that turned him down.

Instead, Wal-Mart offered exemptions to Lee Janzen, Duffy Waldorf, Jay Williamson and Tadd Fujikawa.

"I'm kind of shocked," Daly told the Associated Press. "Wal-Mart's the title sponsor and it's a great charity they've got and I was kind of shocked I didn't get the exemption." Speaking of those who were under consideration for the exemption, Daly added: "A lot of guys live in Orlando and some guys are probably closer than I am to keeping their card, so it's probably a smart thing."

So the tournament essentially chose Fujikawa over Daly. Both will bring in crowds, but I doubt Fujikawa's crowds are bigger than Daly's. But he's the feel-good story, while Daly is the ... what? The guy who rooms with Kid Rock:

(It was) a bizarre year, even by Daly's standards.

He led the British Open for a few minutes, only to miss the cut. His face was marked up after an alleged steak-knife spat with his wife during the spring; they subsequently reconciled. He had a second-round 87 at the Wachovia Championship, a day where he was actually 1 under through seven holes and played the final 11 in a hacker-esque 16 over.

He hasn't placed higher than 16th in any event, and somehow has only one win since the 1995 British Open.

Yet there still were good moments, the ones that give Daly reason for optimism.

Daly shot 63 in the second round of the Frys.com Open, plus put together four rounds in the 60s at the Buick Open -- cheered on in the final round by rock-rap-country performer Kid Rock, Daly's host that week. He can still grip-it-and-rip-it as well as anyone; he ranks second this year on tour in driving distance, a smidge behind Bubba Watson.

And his second-round 69 at the Ginn was his third under-70 score in his last seven rounds, which he found encouraging.

"I'm close," Daly said. "I kind of wish I had about four or five tournaments left, to tell you the truth."

Daly got into 24 tournaments in 2007. He missed the cut in 10 of them and withdrew from five of them. When he managed to stick around for the weekend, Daly posted respectable finishes. He didn't challenge for any wins, but on average finished around 30th or 35th. But he won enough money in those appearances to rank only 182nd on the money list (pending the Ginn sur Mer outcome, where Daly is currently last among those who made the cut).

In 2008, with non-exempt status again, Daly won't be able to get into another 24 tournaments unless he wracks up a few Top 10s in the tourneys he does get into. That's because he won't have a minor medical exemption in '08 that got him into five tournaments this year.

Daly can accept up to eight sponsor exemptions; he'll have a past champion exemption at the Buick Open; and he'll get into the three opposite-field tournaments. That's 12 tournaments. After that, he'll have to hope for slack fields to open a spot for him. I'm guessing Daly gets into about 18 tournaments in 2008.

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John's a bit clueless

I'm not sure why Daly is so shocked at being turned down by Wal-Mart. The Walton family is well known for their conservative and southern baptist beliefs.

And Daly is...well...a little more liberal in his lifestyle. Parking his multi-million dollar trailer at the local Hooters and downing more than a few brews doesn't exactly jibe with the Wal-Mart image.

I am a big fan of Daly's talent and love of the game, but truthfully, I'm a bit surprised that it has taken this long for a tournament to turn down a Daly request for an exemption.

No doubt, he is immensely popular, but his performances have been lackluster, and he still tanks multiple times a year. Sponsor's exemptions are for either good will or to bring in a player who is expected to be around all four days.

Daly's play is not good these days, his off course exploits have become more of a story than his on course play, his physical conditioning has gotten so bad that you wonder if he can walk all 18 holes, much less 72.

Maybe we can write this one up to a hopeful wakeup call for not only his golfing future, but the other areas of his life as well.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Oct 27, 2007 4:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs