John Daly has been cut loose by swing
coach Butch Harmon, who
said Tuesday he was not going to waste his time with a two-time major
champion who is more
interested in drinking than working on his golf game.
“My whole goal for him was he’s got to show me golf is the most
important thing in his life,”
Harmon said from his golf school in Las Vegas. “And the most
important thing in his life is
getting drunk.”
Harmon said he has worked three times this year with Daly, but he
said Daly’s behavior at the
PODS Championship was enough to end the short-lived relationship.
Daly, playing on a sponsor’s exemption because he no longer has his
full PGA Tour card, spent
a 2½-hour rain delay during the first round in a Hooters corporate
tent behind the 17th green
at Innisbrook. He was 3 over, and when play resumed, he had Tampa Bay
Buccaneers coach Jon
Gruden caddie for him the rest of the day. Daly ended up with a
77.
He followed that with an 80 in the second round to miss the cut.
Daly spent Saturday at the Hooters “Owl’s Nest” at the tournament,
drinking beer, mingling
with fans and signing autographs, including one on the back of a
woman’s pants.
“I’ve let him know that after his actions of last weekend, we are no
longer together,” Harmon
said. “In all honesty, I’m a very busy person. I’m willing to help
the kid, but until he
helps himself and makes golf his No. 1 priority, I’m not his guy.
“Jon Gruden caddying, I thought was ridiculous. I thought he made a
circus out of the whole
event.”
Daly, who is playing the Arnold Palmer Invitational on a sponsor’s
exemption, could not be
located for comment.
Harmon is regarded as among the best swing coaches in golf, working
with Tiger Woods before
he turned pro and overhauling Woods swing when the world’s No. 1
player won four consecutive
majors. He also worked with Greg Norman when he was No. 1, and his
current clientele includes
Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott.
Daly was the ninth alternate when he won the PGA Championship in 1991
at Crooked Stick, and
he captured the British Open at St. Andrews four years later. His
last victory came four
years ago at the Buick Invitational, but his game has been in a
tailspin ever since, and his
personal life has been as rocky as ever.
He played last year primarily on sponsor exemptions and was plagued
by a rib injury when he
stopped his swing at the HondaZZTO Classic upon hearing the
click of a fan’s camera.
Daly is contemplating a lawsuit against the tournament, which gave
him an exemption.
In seven events this year, he has missed the cut three times and
withdrew from the Bob Hope
Classic, where he was spotted at several after-hour parties. His best
finish was a tie for
60th in Mexico, an opposite-field event.
Harmon said they have worked three times this year.
“He would work hard and get better, but when things don’t go right,
it’s back to the alcohol
stuff,” Harmon said. “I love this kid. He’s a tremendous talent. But
if he’s not going to
give 100 percent effort, it’s a waste of my time.”
But it was his behavior at Innisbrook that set off Harmon.
“You don’t see guys who are any good doing that,” he said. “All the
guys I work with are
working their (tails) off. John didn’t have it. I like the kid, but
he’s got to get his head
on straight. The partying and other shenanigans, if that’s the way he
wants to be, I don’t
choose to be a part of it.”