Daly: 'I'm winning a major every day I wake up'

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Wednesday July 15, 1998 04:40 PM

Daly has battled with alcoholism and weight problems for several years (Andrews Redington/Allsport)

SOUTHPORT, England (CNN/SI) -- John Daly had just won the biggest golf tournament of his life -- and he felt awful. So awful, in fact, that the only thing the recovering alcoholic could think about was finding a good reason to fall off the wagon.

"But I was the most miserable guy in the world because I was trying to find reasons why I should be drinking. I haven't had my best win yet. I haven't had the one that feels like 'Hey, finally I've earned it.'"

The burly 32-year-old American has battled with alcoholism and weight problems for several years. He is still fighting them but has coped well for the past 15 months.

On the eve of this year's British Open at Royal Birkdale, he said: "I am winning a major every day I wake up."

He said that when he burst on to the scene by winning the 1991 PGA Championship, he was drinking heavily, as he was when he won the BC Open in 1992. And though he had stopped by the time of his victory in Atlanta in 1994, he was still not dealing with it well.

"The battle I face every day is that as long as I can get through another day and not drink it is a miracle," Daly said. "But to win another tournament ... I think that is going to be the most precious one."

Now that he is controlling the drinking, which he lapsed back into in March of last year, he has a food problem though his weight, up to 246 Pounds in March, has dropped to 220.

"Physically I'm overweight and out of shape because all I want to do is eat," he said. "That's been the tough thing in this [recovery] program. You go from one addiction to another and mine seems to be food now.

"I eat burgers, pizza, steak and any chocolate I can get my hands on. I still have a craving for the sugar. When you quit drinking you crave sugar because alcohol turns into sugar in your body and that's what you crave when you stop.

"And," he added, "Europe has the greatest chocolate in the world, man!"

Overall, his life is happier now, he says. "I'm back with my wife [Paulette], which was really a miracle in itself," he said. "We got back together two-and-a-half months ago.

"My golf game? I'm not scoring well but hopefully that will come."

But he hopes the wind will continue to blow in Southport. "I have a better chance here if the wind blows and par is a good score because I'm not putting well enough to make a load of birdies," he said.

Back home, he added, he goes to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings to help deal with his addiction. He hopes to do so here, too, though as of Wednesday he had not found one.

"But I'm going to find one," he said. "There's drunks all over the world, man. We're everywhere."

Related information
Stories
Sports Illustrated Presents Alan Shipnuck's Golf Mailbag: Click here to send him a question! Inside Golf with Sports Illustrated's Jaime Diaz: A British Open Dream Team Teeing Off: Bullish on the British
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Message Boards
British Open Predictions! What do you think of Daly's chances at Royal Brikdale? Chip in an opinion or two on the CNN/SI Golf Message Board! Join the discussion
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.