Daly Serving 6-Month Suspension from PGA Tour

John Daly didn't have a very good 2008. He won less than $60,000 in 17 tournaments on the PGA Tour, and he spent a night in jail, among other low points. Today, he revealed that he has been suspended for six months by the PGA Tour.

The suspension was handed down sometime in the latter quarter of 2008, probably November. The PGA Tour does not disclose suspensions or fines and declined to comment for the Associated Press article. But Daly himself, and his agent, did discuss the suspension in the AP article, with Daly saying he expected the suspension to run out in May 2009.

Daly cited four specific incidents that he says led to the suspension:

After a rain delay at Innisbrook during the Florida Swing, he emerged from a Hooters hospitality tent with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden as his caddie for the final seven holes of the round, prompting a split with swing coach Butch Harmon.

While promoting a golf course in Missouri, Daly did a regional television interview wearing only blue jeans – no shirt, no shoes – while showing how to play one of the holes. Then at the Buick Open, during a pro-am that featured Kid Rock in overalls, Daly revved up the fans by hitting one drive off the top of a beer can.

He drew the most attention from the night in jail. Daly told the AP that his friends called police when they feared he had passed out, unaware he sleeps with his eyes open when he’s had too much to drink. Daly was not charged, rather put in jail under a state law called “Assistance to Intoxicated Persons.” But his jail photo was an Internet sensation.

“The picture didn’t help,” Daly said. “People think I got arrested when I didn’t get arrested. It is what it is. I’ve got to deal with it and go on. Whatever reason the tour has, maybe a positive will come out of this.”

What positive might come out of it? Daly wouldn't have gotten into many PGA Tour events in 2009 anyway, since he has lost his playing privileges with several consecutive poor seasons (he was No. 232 on the money list in 2008). His erratic behavior has also cost him sponsor invitations, invitations that used to be automatic when Daly asked for them. Not any more.

So Daly plans to spend the first half of 2009 playing in European Tour events. He told AP golf reporter Doug Ferguson that he hopes to play well enough in those tournaments to earn back some respect for his faltering golf game - and to, therefore, earn some sponsor exemptions into PGA Tour events in the second half of the year.

Read the full article on Golfweek.com.

See also:

• John Daly bio
• John Daly pictures