By David Westin
The Augusta Chronicle

MARIETTA, Ga - If John Daly had his way, the BellSouth Classic would be played the week before the Masters Tournament every year.

Due to the way the calendar falls this year, there was an extra week on the PGA Tour schedule before the Masters. The tour asked the BellSouth, formerly known as the Atlanta Classic, if it wanted to take the spot on a one-time-only basis.

The answer was yes, much to Daly's delight.

The current British Open champion likes the new setup because he plays well in the BellSouth, which has a normal May date. He won it in 1994 and tied for 12th place last year after being tied for leader at the halfway mark.

That's in stark contrast to Daly's play in the normal Master's prelude, the tour stop in New Orleans. Daly's game doesn't set up for the English Turn course in New Orleans and it shows. He's struggled so much at English Turn that last year he skipped the tournament.

"I want to hopefully play good here and go in there (the Masters) next week with some confidence," Daly said Tuesday after finishing fourth in a 10-player Shootout at the Atlanta Country Club, where the BellSouth will begin on Thursday.

"Every time I've gone to Augusta, it's been after either a week off when you don't know what to expect or I'd played poorly in New Orleans," Daly added. "I really haven't gone into Augusta with a lot of confidence."

Daly is coming off a strong showing in last week's Players Championship. He tied for 19th place after rounds of 68-70-69-72. He shot 9-under-par 279 at the TCP at Sawgrass course despite the fact his driver, normally the strength of his game, was not cooperating.

After another in a line of bad drives in the final round, Daly had enough. He gave the club to a young fan in the gallery on the 12th tee.

"I kept duck-hooking it," Daly explained.

Earlier in the season, it was the putter that had gone south for Daly. That led to numerous long sessions on the putting green, some lasting more than two hours, Daly said.

Two hours?

"It was pretty bad," Daly said of his putting woes.

Extended practice is something new for Daly. He's working hard on his game, espescially the parts he thinks are weak.

"I used to get to the course an hour and a half before my round and hit a few balls and chip and putt," Daly said. "I want to get more consistent and I think the extra time I'm putting in before I play will do me a lot of good."

Daly thinks the 7,018 yard Atlanta Country Club is a good tune-up course for next week at the 6,905-yard Augusta National.

"These greens here are bent grass and they have a lot of undulations (like Augusta)," Daly said. "They're not quite as fast as Augusta but they're getting real quick."

Another similarity is that both courses have their share of hills.

Daly should have an easier time walking those hills here and in Augusta next week than in the past. He's lost "25 or 30 pounds" since mid-November and is down to 190 pounds.

Daly cut out his beloved cheeseburgers - he hasn't had one since October - and scaled back on his chocolate intake. He also tries not to eat after 6 p.m.

"I'd be getting up at 1, 2, 3 in the morning eating gobs of chocolate ice cream or Choco Puffs," Daly said. "Anything that had chocolate on it I was eating it."

Daly knew it was time to do something about his weight when he was fitted for pants in November.

On the basis of a recommendation from Daly's good friend Fuzzy Zoeller, Daly went to Zoeller's tailor for a fitting.

"We did it at the Shark Shootout in Fuzzy's room," Daly said. "When he (the tailor) told me my waist size, I said 'Fuzzy, what's yours?' I found out my waist size was the same as Fuzzy's. I said 'I've got to quit eating.'"

Daly said his waistline "was getting close to 40. Now I'm right at 35 or 36."