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John Daly returns to the scene of his greatest triumph ... and thrives
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Of all John Daly's many achievements on Thursday at the British Open – carding six birdies, finishing 1-under par as the wind picked up at St. Andrews, rocking pants bright enough to be seen from five holes away – his greatest might be this: the man is able to light cigarettes in the howling Scottish wind.
The John Daly of 2015 shares only a silhouette with the John Daly who won here 20 years ago. Daly's hair is lighter, his skin darker, his clothes louder. But thanks to that British Open victory, he can play here every year from now until 2026 ... and every time this event comes around, he gets excited all over again.
"I just love this place," he said shortly after his round. "I know where everything is. I've got every green in my mind. When you get to that feeling, you have confidence in yourself that you're going to play well."
On a day where the wind forced every player to throttle back lest their tee shots end up in some godforsaken patch of gorse, Daly didn't play a flawless round. He dropped as low as 4-under on No. 10, but turning back into the teeth of the wind wrecked him. He surrendered four bogeys against one birdie in the final eight holes, and ended the day just 1-under par.
Still, given the fact that the wind was devouring most players around him, Daly rose to the occasion at the course that's the site of his best (printable) memories. "This one's more special than all of them," he said of St. Andrews. "This one, when I tee it up — yeah, I'm 49, but I still feel I can compete."
Daly's a classic case of a guy who played his best golf at the best possible time. In the 20 years since his win at St. Andrews, his highest finish in any major came 10 years later with a tie for 15th place at the same venue. He hasn't played in the Masters since 2006 or the U.S. Open since 2005. He doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about his 1995 British Open triumph — "a week leading up to the British, and a week after" — and that's in keeping with his whatever happens, happens persona.
"I'm anxious to get on the Champions Tour [when he turns 50] and see my buddies," he said. "I haven't really set goals. I don't think I'm ever going to be the No. 1 player in the world, so I just enjoy the game."
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
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