John Daly's Dummy Spit

John Daly

John Daly was 7 over par on the 11th fairway at the Australian Open in Sydney yesterday and as he tried to reach the green, his temper got the better of him and he dumped seven shots into the water. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he then realized he’d run out of golf balls and snapped. Furious, he handed over his score card and left the course. PGA Australia were quick to react, they rescinded Daly’s invitation to play in the Australian PGA on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in a fortnight.

Craig Parry

Craig Parry who is a member of the PGA Australia board said "He had no golf balls, that's why he walked off, I do feel sorry for JD on that one, I really do, I like John". But an angry official pointed out that if you run out of golf balls, you behave in a professional manner and call a rules official who will get the type of ball you are playing with and replenish your stock.

John Daly has a lot of fans in Australia - we love this bad boy and he knows it. "I love the fans here in Australia, they've been great," Daly said. "I've never played well here, I tried too hard and it backfired, it might not be bad if they ban me ... because I've never played well here. But I do love the people here and this beautiful country. I take responsibility for my actions, I always have and I don't blame anybody but myself."

Australian golfing officials know that John Daly is good entertainment value and that’s why they keep inviting him back. Daly is also popular with his peers, you won’t find many tour players who don’t enjoy his company, mainly because he’s fun to be around. Yesterday Craig Parry was quick to defend him but when it was pointed out that walking off the golf course in the middle of a round is just not the right thing to do, he said “I’m not going to have a go at him for that”.