“A redneck, blue-collar dumb*** like me goes and wins the Open at St Andrews. It’s awesome.”
There is only one golfer who possibly could have uttered these words: 1995 Open champion John Daly.
Few golfers have made more off-course headlines than Daly, but it was the American's flaws which endeared him to golf fans – and non-golf fans – around the globe.
The newest episode of the iconic “Chronicles of a Champion Golfer” series, available to watch in The One Club Hub, covers one of the most storied careers in golf. Daly was the people's champion.
“I’m no different from the firemen or the guy working at McDonald’s,” Daly said. “People can relate to my life; it’s no different [to] theirs, it’s just I play golf.
“I went down the wrong road a little bit, but I had some fun doing it.”
Daly, who learned to play golf by following Jack Nicklaus’ tutorials in Golf Digest, announced himself to the world by famously winning the PGA Championship in 1991, his first year as a professional, after driving through the night to play the first round.
“Then a crazy man was born,” Daly said.
Known for his prodigious distance off the tee, he was given the nickname “Long John” Daly and further success was predicted for the long-time Arkansas resident after his major breakthrough.
To read about how Daly earned the biggest victory of his career at the Open in 1995, click HERE.
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