John Daly hopes to return to Australia to compete despite incurring the wrath of Australasian PGA Tour officials after walking and not storming off in the recent Australian Open.
The 45-old American revealed he accepts the decision of the Australasian Tour to withdraw an invitation for him to compete in the recent Australian PGA and while many consider the treatment of the Tour ‘harsh’ the double Major Champion says it was mitigating circumstances that led to him walking off midway through the Australian Open.
Daly was seven over par during the opening round at The Lakes course in Sydney but ran out of golf balls after continually finding a water hazard down the right side of the 11th hole.
Moments earlier he had played a superb bunker shot to tap-in distance on the par fourth, 10th hole only to find the ball he played was a similar brand Srixon range ball from the practice range to the left of the hole.
John Daly - There is always two sides to a story. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
“I accept if you look at my past competing in Australia that the way I was treated was not harsh but if they were to have looked at really went on at the 10th hole then it was harsh,” said Daly on the eve of the UBS Hong Kong Open.
“It was like Craig Parry said and that is why are their range balls on the fairways of a major tournament like the Australian Open?
“When I got back to my hotel there must have been thousands and thousands of ‘tweet’ messages supporting me.
“There was also 17 ‘tweet’s informing the official on the 10th hole where my ball was but that official never informed me.
“There was also a cameraman at the spot and he never said anything to me.
“I had found the bunker with my tee shot and then when I got up there I hit a great bunker shot, and when I threw my caddy the ball to wipe it, I find it’s not my ball.
“Then on the 11th it was my ego that got in the way and I thought we had plenty of golf balls.”
What still hurts Daly more than anything was press coverage that suggested he ‘stormed’ off the Lakes course.
In fact, TV footage shows Daly actually shaking hands with playing partners Craig Parry and Hunter Mahan and walking back to the clubhouse.
“I shook hands with Craig and Hunter and said that I’ve run out of balls, and I said that also to an official and he said to me that is was unfortunate,” said Daly.
“But what hurts me is that it was then reported I stormed off. Well, I never stormed off. I just walked back to the clubhouse.
“And besides I was using a new Srixon ball just released but I am unsure if they would stock those particular balls in the pro shop.
“I would have had to go back to the hotel room to get some, anyway.”
While Daly has been popular competing in Australia, he admits he’s never played yet well in his many visits ‘down under’.
There was a controversial incident during a past Australian Open in Sydney when Daly took exception to a spectator’s camera in his face and hurled it into a tree down the last at The Australian Club.
Also there was the episode when Daly hurled his putter into a Coolum water hazard during the course of an Australian PGA Championship.
The Australasian Tour fined Daly an undisclosed sum over this latest incident and while an invitation was withdrawn for Daly to compete in the Australian PGA that was staged last week, the American is still free to compete in Australia.
“I didn’t get banned from Australia but I really don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he said.
“There has been some talk after Craig Parry settled the matter down a bit saying I didn’t do anything stupid and if it was him, he would have done the same thing.
“But the question I keep asking is what were range balls doing in the bunkers out on the championship golf course?
“When I got to the bunker I thought it was my ball. I’m using Srixon balls and the balls on the range were also Srixon.
“Everybody complimented me saying ‘great shot’ but when I get up there my caddy wiped the ball and threw it back to me but it wasn’t my ball.
“So I go from making three there on that hole to a seven.
“I’ve looked at my past in Australia and I got upset with an official one year. Last year at the Australian PGA I was eight over par and I back-handed a putt, like we all do, and it popped out of the hole and I looked like a jerk then.
“Then there was that guy with the camera in Sydney but then Robert Allenby didn’t do me any favours. He defended me saying I did the right thing but then when he speaks to the press he says exactly the opposite.
“I wouldn’t have been so mad with that spectator with the camera but he was right in my face and cut my nose slightly with his camera.
“But that guy had been warned all round long and the officials did nothing about him.”
Daly is also competing on invitation this week in Hong Kong and looking to put the events of the Australian Open behind him.
“If I can take a positive out of Australia and while my ego got in the way, I am still very competitive,” he said.
“I feel as though I still have much to offer in this game. I will keep plugging along.
“But I love coming here to Hong Kong and old style golf courses like this, and it reminds me very much like Hilton Head.”
Daly will play the opening two rounds of the $US 2.75m event in the company of England’s Ross Fisher and China No. 1 Wen-chong Liang.
