John Daly lets it fly at St. Andrews. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- The hick kid from Arkansas with a streak of rebel in him won the British Open 10 years ago at St. Andrews, the home of golf. It was a pairing every bit as odd as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, and nearly as surprising as his out-of-left-field victory in the 1991 PGA Championship.

Ten years later, John Daly is still full of surprises. He shot 69 in the second round Friday to finish at 4-under for the first two days, and surprise, he's in contention -- at least, as much as anybody else who's chasing Tiger Woods.

Daly, too, is surprised.

"It's great because it's 10 years gone and I'm still alive," he joked after the round.

Part of his charm has always been his honesty and his down-home attitude. You can take the kid out of Arkansas but ... you can't take the Arkansas out of the kid. Which in Daly's case has always been a delightful plus. Still, you can't help but think of the Beverly Hillbillies in his presence.

For instance, he didn't bother to go to Tuesday night's dinner for past Open champions. It's a big deal and the fact that he didn't attend is kind of an insult. But Daly, in his own self-deprecating Davy Crockett-style homespun wit, will surely wiggle out of it.

"Well, it's a tie and jacket and I just don't travel with one," Daly said. "You're not going to put a coat and tie on me for dinner. I'm just being honest. Plus, the wives can't go and I'd rather see the wives be able to go instead of just all the guys. That makes it fun."

He also blamed jet leg. Daly arrived from the U.S. on Monday, played a practice round Tuesday, then didn't come out to the course to practice at all on Wednesday.

"I slept all day Wednesday," he joked. "I've come off a stretch of three hard weeks. I've played this golf course long enough to know it well so there's no need for me to think about it too much. If you play too many practice rounds, you get burned out. I've approached it that way this year and it's somewhat paying off."

So, no dinner with Seve and Jack and the rest of the champions.

"If I'm going to hang myself," Daly said in discussing fancy dinners, "I'll put a rope around my neck. I just don't get into them. I think they're boring ... You can't get a coat and tie on this fat boy."

Jethro Clampett couldn't have said it better. This is the guy who credited the chocolate chip muffins he bought from on-course concession stands for helping him win here in '95. Give him credit, though -- he accepts links golf and enjoys it, unlike some American players who whine about the differences and inconveniences.

"I love this Open, I love Scotland and this is one of my favorite courses in the world," Daly said.

This Open has a special meaning for Daly, as well as everyone else, because it is the farewell Open for Jack Nicklaus.

"I started golf when I was four and back then in 1970, Jack come out with his Golf Digest cartoons and that's how I learned to play," Daly said. "I learned the grip, the cut and the draw and that's how I learned to play. A lot of guys did. If it wasn't for Arnold and Jack and those type of guys, I wouldn't have played golf.

"For me, 1995 was a special year, not only because I won but because it was Arnold Palmer's last Open and this year it's Jack's. It's very emotional for many players."

It has been an odd year for Daly. He really hasn't played all that well. One or two weeks can make a year, though, and Daly was in a brief playoff with Vijay Singh at the Shell Houston Open. The playoff was pretty much over after Daly hooked his tee shot into a water hazard on the first extra hole.

Daly won two matches in the Accenture World Match Play and tied for 17th, and was 17th in the season-opening Mercedes Championship. But except for Houston, he hasn't finished in the top 40.

This week, he's trying to make his game fit the course because he's not hitting his usual draw -- which used to be perfect for the Old Course because the adjacent holes are all on the left and the trouble is almost all on the right.

"It's hard for me to draw the ball nowadays," Daly said. "So it's more of a pull. I try to pull it off the tee. I can pull it left. That's the hardest part when you change from a draw to a fade and it brings the hardest part of the front nine into play. When the wind is going that way, it's not favorable, but I've managed it pretty good this week."

Daly's record in the Open is even more curious. He finished 75th, 14th and 81st in his first three Opens, then won at St. Andrews, finished 66th the next year and missed the cut in five of the last six. He has had eight rounds of 74 or higher in the last six Opens.

As for being in contention, Daly isn't sure that he really is. Tiger Woods was 8-under par when Daly finished and still on the course, eventually ending at 11-under. Seven shots back, Daly may be like everyone else -- fighting for second.

"I think the weather needs to change," Daly said when asked how he could catch Woods. "Tiger, the way he's playing ... I was watching him stroke some putts so well. He's hitting the ball well and has so much confidence. If the weather stays like this, I don't think anyone is going to catch him. The only chance we have is if the weather gets bad and we get some wind."