TIGER who? Big John Daly ain’t
scared of no little TigerThe gallery wound its way along the ninth fairway at Waialae Country Club, then quickly filled any openings around the green.
Yes, the biggest gathering at the opening round of the United Airlines Hawaiian Open yesterday afternoon was following John Daly. In fact, the rest of the course seemed just about empty until his group swarmed through the clubhouse area.
And Daly rewarded their loyalty as he blasted his way to a 5-under-par 67 in the perfect conditions to stay in the hunt for the Golden Pineapple.
"I didn't hit a lot of fairways, but I made some putts," he said. "I kind of knew the way the wind didn't blow that the scores would be really low."
Daly shot a 33 on the front side and a 34 on the back - and cheerfully signed autographs as he was mobbed afterward.
He said that his strategy at Waialae is pretty simple.
"It's a golf course where you have to keep it in play," he said. "It's a putting contest. Just like every week, it seems, it's just a big putting contest."
Apparently, the 30-year-old Daly hasn't lost much popularity on the PGA Tour, despite the incredible impact that Tiger Woods has made on the game.
Unfortunately for local golf fans, Woods skipped the Hawaiian Open to play in the Australian Masters.
HAS the spotlight on Woods helped ease the media pressure on Daly?
"Oh yeah, definitely." he said. "The way he's playing, he should be the No. 1 player in the world right now. By far."
Does Daly wish Woods was in the Hawaiian Open field?
"It don't matter," he said. "I ain't scared of him - let's put it that way. But he's on a roll right now."
Daly and Woods were both instant hits on the PGA Tour. But that's where the similarity ends.
Daly was an unknown who burst onto the scene by winning the 1991 PGA Championship as a last-minute alternate. His monster drives and "Grip It and Rip It" philosophy thrilled sports fans and shook up some of the golf traditionalists.
Marital and alcohol problems hurt his image with some fans, but it also showed a human side that was rarely seen in the mostly upper-class golfers. He left the Tour for a while to battle the demons - and has come away a big winner off the course as well.
Then he stunned the golf world again by winning the British Open in impressive fashion in 1995.
Last year, Daly struggled as his best finish was a 10th-place tie in the Kemper Open. But he still won $173,557 to push his career earnings over $2 million.
Plus, he again led the Tour in driving distance - an amazing 288.8-yard average.
He set some modest goals this year.
"I'd really like to get back in the top 30 on the money list," he said. "That's pretty much about it. Nothing major. But it would be nice to play in the Tour Championship again."
OHN Daly has been my favorite golfer on the regular Tour since he won in 1991. There are many, many other outstanding golfers and the majority are very nice people as well.
But there are also a few robots who grew up in the shadow of some country club, spending daddy's money and never feeling most of the pressures of everyday life that affect so many of us.
Even Tiger Woods seems like a product as much as a person at times. And Woods should be here competing in a regular Tour event with everyone else instead of acting like some sort of traveling royalty - and getting appearance money, which he doesn't need.
Maybe that's why the gallery following Daly was as big as everyone else's combined.
The common folk still love to see their hero wind up and launch that little ball like no one else in the world.
I'm hoping that John Daly will make everyone forget about Tiger what's-his-name this week.