Daly, John 1966-

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Daly, John 1966-

PERSONAL: Born April 28, 1966, in Carmichael, CA; married, 1990; wife’s name Dale; married Paulette (third wife; divorced, 1997); married Sherri Miller, 2001 (marriage ended); children: Sierra Lynn, Austin, John Patrick. Education: Attended University of Arkansas.

ADDRESSES: Home— Cordova, TN. Office— John Daly Enterprises, LLC, P.O. Box 585159, Orlando, FL 32858-5159; fax: 407-841-2561.

CAREER: Golfer, businessperson, and writer. Founder of John Daly Enterprises, 2001.

AWARDS, HONORS: Winner, PGA Championship, 1991; Named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, 1991; Winner, B.C. Open, 1992; Winner, BellSouth Classic, 1994; Winner, British Open, 1995.

WRITINGS

(With John Andrisani) Grip It and Rip It!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Glen Waggoner) My Life In and Out of the Rough: The Truth behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know about Me, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: John Daly is a professional golfer who is as well known for his exploits off the golf course as for his powerful golf swing and Professional Golf Association (PGA) tournament victories, which number only a few. Although much has been written about his personal life—including his excessive drinking, womanizing, and gambling—he continues to have a huge fan following and is among the most popular players on the professional golf tour. Daly teams with writer Glen Waggoner to tell his side of the story in My Life In and Out of the Rough: The Truth behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know about Me. The autobiography chronicles Daly’s life beginning with his youth and first efforts at playing golf at the age of four, his scholarship to the University of Arkansas, and his eventual success playing in the PGA.

The authors also delve into what many perceive as the inner demons that have prevented Daly from being one of the truly great golfers of his time. For example, he reveals that he estimates he has lost fifty million dollars gambling, a fact that astonished even him when he did research for his book and went over his tax returns. The book also addresses Daly’s alcoholism and refusal to continue to undergo outside rehabilitation, choosing, instead, to address the problem himself by weaning himself off of hard liquor and drinking only beer. According to Joe Juliano, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daly noted at a 2006 news conference for the Exelon Invitational charity event: “I figured rehab is for quitters. I just didn’t enjoy it. I tried it and I had people convincing me saying I’m this or I’m that. But when I looked in the mirror in 1999, I took myself off all the medication and my heart and my mind said, ‘This is it. I’m doing this on my own.’” In an interview with New York Times contributor Damon Hack, Daly pointed out: “The whole book is not just about gambling, it’s just life. A lot of good things, and a lot of bad things. It was kind of therapeutic talking about it.”

In a review of My Life In and Out of the Rough in the Europe Intelligence Wire, Liam Kelly noted: “Daly is above all, very honest. He deals with all the issues in this book.” Noting that Daly tells his story “with uncompromising self-honesty,” Kelly added: “It’s a sports autobiography with a difference and golf fans will be intrigued to hear John Daly’s story in his own words.” David S. Hauck, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, called the book a “blunt assessment (in blunt language) of a man-child who’s trying to cast out his demons.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

BOOKS

Daly, John, and Glen Waggoner, My Life In and Out of the Rough: The Truth behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know about Me, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), 2006.

Notable Sports Figures, four volumes, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Christian Science Monitor, June 2, 2006, David S. Hauck, review of My Life In and Out of the Rough.

Europe Intelligence Wire, July 15, 2006, Liam Kelly, “Drinker, Gambler, Womaniser, but He’s Still the People’s Champion,” review of My Life In and Out of the Rough.

New York Times, May 3, 2006, Damon Hack, “Daly Is an Open Book in Discussing His Gambling Habit,” p. D2.

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 6, 2006, Joe Juliano, “Candor, Color: Daly Delivers: Golf’s Lovable Loaf Is Still a Crowd Pleaser.”

Sports Illustrated, May 15, 2006, Richard Hoffer, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips. (John Daly’s Gambling),” p. 18.