Daly breaks out the lumber

Long John is public face of new Pittsburgh tournament

PITTSBURGH -- Arnold Palmer has the Bay Hill Invitational. Jack Nicklaus has the Memorial Tournament. Byron Nelson has the Byron Nelson Classic.

And now John Daly has ... the 84 Lumber Classic.

Meet John Daly, the new king of Pittsburgh. Well, maybe king is a little strong. Steelers coach Bill Cowher still reigns supreme, but Daly is at least a sub-commander. A few years back, he hit a 3-iron at home plate in the old Three Rivers Stadium and launched the ball out of the ballpark. On Monday he continued his Steel City reign of terror by teeing up a ball in front of the Steelers training facility and attempting to bash it clear across the Monongahela River.

MAILBAG After seeing Moe Norman on Golf Academy Live,I have been fascinated by him. If he is the greatest ballstriker ever, why didn't he join the PGA Tour? Why has he never received any publicity? Is it his eccentricity that turns everyone off? —John McGovern, Ewing, N.J. Actually, Mr. President, Norman has received publicity. For being an eccentric. Norman is a unique character who is somewhat reclusive, and Moe stories are rampant in the world of golf. Like this one: On a short par-4, Norman was told he was playing a driver-wedge hole. So he hit wedge off the tee, then knocked driver onto the green from the fairway. He really was that good, apparently. Check out The Feeling of Greatness: The Moe Norman Story by Tim O'Connor. What's your take on club-throwing, and what is your advice to a competitor who has to witness it repeatedly? —Doug Chambers, Pittsburgh While club-tossing is bad form, DC, do what I do in competition -- ignore it and everything else. Hmm. Wonder if that's why I stink? This may be a bit premature, but if Fred Couples continues to play well, might Jack Nicklaus consider him as a captain's pick for the Presidents Cup? I think Couples would make a great addition to the team. —Patrick Cashman, Lexington, Ky. The last time Jack captained the Prez Cup squad, Cash-hole, the U.S. was spanked. Bad. I felt his interest and effort were a little lacking, as were the interest and effort of the American players themselves. I wouldn't get your hopes up about any captain's picks. Jack and Arnie have both weaseled out and simply picked the players who ranked 11th and 12th in points, in part to avoid controversy and in part, I think, because they aren't current with today's tour players. If Fred is playing like this, though, you're right, he's a possible pick ... assuming he's willing to go to South Africa to play the event.

It was a really annoying idea, on account of I had to look up how to spell Monongahela. Normally when I can't spell a word, I just use a different one rather than look it up. But what are you going to do about Monongahela, "tributary of the Ohio River"? Hell, then I have to look up tributary. It was a no-win, uh ... one of those no-win things, OK?

The carry across the river is 304 yards, but realistically you have to hit it farther because a 40-foot stone wall sits on the far bank. So Daly had to carry 304 yards across the water and still have the ball high enough in the air to clear the wall. But why, you ask? Simple. This is how you get much-needed publicity for your new PGA Tour stop in September (18-21) and kick off ticket sales. Every TV station in Pittsville, plus at least one Sports Illustrated writer, turned out.

Daly is now, officially, the 84 Lumber Classic's unofficial host. It was pretty obvious because Daly, like all of the other 84 Lumber types on hand, wore the traditional 84 Lumber red blazer with the company logo on the chest pocket. It's no green jacket, but it's all right. Red has been in ever since Tiger Woods made it his Sunday power color.

Back to Long John, who, by the way, is packing as much flesh as he has since his college days, when he was over the 300-pound barrier. Daly played well earlier this year and showed signs of contending, but he had to pull out of last week's HP Classic in New Orleans after he sprained his wrist when he hit a tree root on a shot during the second round. Despite the bum wrist, Daly squared off against the Monongahela on an overcast, cool Monday afternoon. A little right-to-left wind helped him on the shot. After a local TV personality said the obligatory thanks to all the sponsors and introduced notable celebrities in attendance, Daly took the stage. He was armed only with a Titleist 983 driver, 6.5 degrees of loft, and a Titleist Pro V1x ball.

His first mighty swing sounded a bit light, and it was. The ball splashed in the you-know-which river at the base of the wall. Daly teed up another, gripped it and ripped it and watched his Titleist sail a little left. Which, it turned out, was appropriate because it flew directly over an 84 Lumber banner on the far bank. Yes, he did it. Then, just to prove it wasn't a fluke and to make the several hundred celebs, media schmoes and fans feel like they got their money's worth, Daly bombed two more encores onto the north bank with ease.

Long John was scheduled to host a party/concert in which he was going to sing a few tunes off his new CD, My Life, on which he gets a little help from friends such as Johnny Lee and Willie Nelson. "The studios can make anyone sound good," said Daly, whose album recently received a mostly positive review in the March 17, 2003, edition of SI's Golf Plus section. However, I couldn't hang around for tunes. Sorry. Deadlines, baby. I've always liked Daly's tell-it-like-it-is honesty, by the way.

Anyway, that concert capped a busy weekend for Daly in the Pittsburgh area. Before conquering the aforementioned river, he made a Make-A-Wish Foundation run to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, delivering puppies to some delighted youngsters. "To see their smiles, it makes you appreciate life and kids being healthy," Daly said.

After the puppy power, Daly attended a press conference announcing the tournament. A proposed tournament had been bouncing back and forth between the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, but 84 Lumber owner Joe Hardy basically bought himself a date on the tour schedule, and now he has his own event with his favorite golfer and pal, Daly, serving as the front man. Daly used to visit Pittsburgh to play in a heavy-duty outing hosted by Hardy. After a couple of years, Daly became friendly with Hardy and his daughter, Margo. "She feels like my sister and he feels like my dad," Daly admitted.

The 84 Lumber Classic will be played at Hardy's posh Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. The only catch to the tourney catching on in Pittsburgh is its location -- "Somewhere south of Pittsburgh but north of Florida," joked tournament director Eric Mehl. Nemacolin is approximately 80 minutes south of downtown Pittsburgh and close to the middle of nowhere. While tournament officials were thrilled to announce that they've already sold nearly 95 percent of the sponsorships, it's going to be a tall order to get Pittsburgh-area golf fans to haul butt out to see the 84 Lumber. Even if Woods shows up. He isn't on the guest list at the moment, but like every other tour stop, the 84 Lumber hopes to land him. Woods played in the Hardy exhibition one year and drew more than 20,000 fans to the course.

Daly hopes to convince Woods to play the 84 Lumber Classic. "I've tried to talk to Tiger," Daly said, "but I have to go through about 200 IMG people and all his security people." Daly added that Woods owes him a favor from way back and that he's going to try to call it in.

So Daly is the front man for this tournament. While he seems an unlikely choice for that role, in some ways he's a good ambassador. He still is a name and a draw. His likeness is already on tournament advertising and on the tickets -- $11 per round for practice days, $22 for tournament rounds, with kids 12-and-under free if accompanied by an adult; or you can buy a week-long 84 Lumber pass for, of course, $84. "We're marking geniuses," joked Mehl.

Daly was asked why he liked hanging around Pittsburgh. "The King of Golf is from here -- Arnold Palmer," Daly said. "I feel a little like Arnie. I'm a blue-collar guy who plays aggressive. I feel like this is a big family here. I felt that way when Tiger was at the outing. I felt that way at the U.S. Open. I had a bad U.S. Open here one time." He meant Oakmont in 1994, when Ernie Els won a three-way playoff and Daly missed the cut. As the tour's perennial leader in driving distance, Daly is no fan of U.S. Open setups with deep rough that take the driver out of his hands.

Before his Riverdance show, Daly toured the updated grounds at Mystic Rock. He received a surprise when he saw a state-of-the-art, $2 million instruction facility and learned it has been christened the John Daly Learning Center. (Fill in your own how-to-find-a-third-wife joke here.) "Joe said he was going to give me a birthday present, but I didn't realize it would be like this," Daly said. "I never dreamed I would have my name on a teaching facility. It's so cool And, yes, there is chipping and putting, not just driving."

Hardy, by the way, is a free-wheeling millionaire who has a little devil-may-care/John Daly in him. It's easy to see why they hit it off as buddies right away. And Hardy doesn't think small. Hardy, who is running for commissioner of Fayetteville County, visited the Players Championship this year and came home with some ideas for his own event. He really liked the TPC's green tents. "And the whole community, this was like their Super Bowl," Hardy said. His event, Hardy hopes, will grow into near-major status -- a lofty dream. "It'll gain momentum by being at one venue," he said. To that end, the resort is breaking ground on a fabulous new clubhouse that Hardy said has been modeled after the Lodge at the Cloisters. The course will be toughened up for the tournament by designer Pete Dye. "Pete doesn't want anyone hitting 62 on his course," Hardy said. The lumber magnate is always tweaking something at the resort. "Some people come back once a year just to see what we've done next," he said.

Hardy also asked the media for ideas about some kind of Hall of Fame he could include on the site. "They seem to be the hot thing for attracting tourists," he said, "so if you've got any ideas, let me know."

Here's an idea, Mr. Hardy, free of charge: Arnold Palmer, the great man himself, has a barn full of his golfing memorabilia in Latrobe, Pa. It's just sitting there, waiting for a place to be put on display. Gary Player has put all of his mementos, including his green jacket from the Masters, up for auction because he wants a buyer to show it some place in appropriate fashion. So, Mr. Hardy, combine the two and make your museum a double draw. Acquire all of Palmer's and Player's stuff and put it under one roof. You can call it the Big Three (Minus One) Golf Museum. (Nicklaus already has his own museum in Columbus, Ohio.) The name needs work, but the idea is a good one. And it's all yours. However, if you do go this route, remember: Tipping is permitted.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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