The Week: Major Problem

John Daly made it into the Masters, but his mind might be elsewhere next week

By Jim Gorant

When John Daly walked off the 18th green at the Players Championship on Sunday afternoon, he was not happy. It appeared certain that his final-round 80 and 10-over 298 (79th place) had dropped him out of the top 10 on the 2004 money list and therefore out of the Masters. Later that evening Daly found out that he had instead hung on to the 10th spot and qualified to play at Augusta. "I'm totally excited to be back in the Masters," he said. In keeping with the typical roller-coaster pattern of Daly's life, though, it could turn out to be a very bad week.

Daly will hold court at Augusta National the same week his wife faces trial in Mississippi. David Walberg/SI

On Monday, April 5, while Daly prepares to play a practice round at Augusta, his wife, Sherrie, and her parents, Alvis and Billie Miller, are scheduled to begin trial proceedings in an Oxford, Miss., court on federal charges of laundering more than $1.2 million in illegal drug profits. If convicted, Sherrie Daly faces a maximum sentence of 20 years. The trial is expected to last about a week, meaning Daly could experience the highest highs and lowest lows in very short order.

The almost unbelievable confluence of events that led to the trial taking place the same week as the tournament for which Daly so narrowly qualified could affect the two-time major winner in one of two ways. The possibility of his spouse ending up behind bars might put the supposed pressure of a 10-footer for par in perspective, allowing Daly to relax and play better. In this scenario the course could become his sanctuary, the same way the basketball court has become a haven for the Lakers' Kobe Bryant while he faces rape charges in Colorado.

Then again, the whole thing could serve as a huge distraction, making it harder for Daly to focus on the task at hand, similar to the way Phil Mickelson's performance suffered last year after his wife, Amy, endured a life-threatening childbirth. No one knows for sure how things will go for Daly, but there are some indications his play could falter. On Sunday, Daly's caddie, Peter Van Derriet, told SI that his man "will play even better when all the distractions are gone."

Daly was clearly disappointed as he loaded up his motor home and left the TPC at Sawgrass on Sunday afternoon, certain that his ninth-place standing on the money list wouldn't hold up. But as the afternoon wore on, the players with a chance to pass him continued to drop. That prompted his agent, Bud Martin, who knew Daly couldn't watch TV while on the move, to get his client on the phone.

"I talked him through it," says Martin. "I was watching it on TV in the Jacksonville airport and giving him my best Ken Venturi imitation." In the end only Adam Scott, the Players' winner with an impressive 12-under 276, passed Daly, who held on to the 10th spot $135,531 ahead of Darren Clarke.

Later that night Daly reflected on the turn of events. "I haven't been there too often in recent years, so it's a thrill for me to be going back," he said. "I love it there."

Compared with where else he might be, why wouldn't he?

Heard on the Range

Bruce Edwards, the longtime caddie for Tom Watson who is battling Lou Gehrig's disease, plans to make his final public appearance on April 7 in Augusta, where he'll receive the Ben Hogan Award from the Golf Writers Association of America. Edwards, 49, last caddied in the UBS Cup in November but is now housebound and cannot speak. A native of Hartford, Edwards has been enjoying Connecticut's run through the NCAA tournament. "We've been flipping back and forth between basketball and golf all week," said Bruce's wife, Marsha, from their house in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ... Farid Guedra, Vijay Singh's swing coach for the last 15 years, says his pupil doesn't have a problem with the media. "The media has a problem with him," says Guedra. "Of course he wasn't happy with how he was treated over the Annika Sorenstam issue, but Vijay is a nice and considerate man to everyone. Name one great player who made himself entirely available to the press."... Nick Price played Stuart Appleby's ball on his second shot from the fairway on the 14th hole in the first round of the Players, hitting it 20 feet from the pin. Price took a one-stroke penalty, rehit to 30 feet and three-putted for a double-bogey 6. ... The news that Tiger's man Friday from Nike, Greg Nared, has been courting Michelle Wie has fueled speculation that the 14-year-old phenom will forgo college for the LPGA tour. But when asked who paid for the dinner the two shared during the Safeway in Phoenix two weeks ago -- Wie watched SpongeBob SquarePants -- Nared said, "I paid for myself, and she paid for herself. We're not going to do anything to jeopardize her status." ... Masters champion Mike Weir treated his dad to a round at Augusta on March 21. "I made him play the tips," Weir noted. "He didn't finish a lot of holes."
-- J.G., Farrell Evans

Issue date: April 5, 2004