JD BEGGED SHARK
John Daly says he 'begged' Greg Norman for LIV spot, but he's too old
Phil Inglis
Mullets in golf, they’re everywhere.
Cam Smith just won the Open Championship two weeks ago via a final-round 63 and the mulleted Australian hoisted the claret jug at the Old Course after capturing his first major championship. Shortly after he was asked whether he’ll be joining the LIV Golf circuit and, while he didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no either.
Meanwhile, another man who is known for various stages of mullets, who also happened to win a Open at St. Andrews, has said that he does want to play in the LIV Golf series, but was essentially told there was not enough room for him.
John Daly sat down for an interview last week on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” and told Morgan that he would love to play in the upstart Saudi-backed league. The upfront money appealed to him and he loved the idea of essentially being compensated to play in a pro-am, something that he never felt happened during his time on the PGA Tour.
“I begged Greg Norman to let me be on the LIV tour,” Daly said. “You know, we work really hard. I played with Brian Harman in a practice round and some other guys in the practice rounds at the British Open and it’s like we play pro-ams. We get it, OK? That’s what is the backbone of a lot of our tournaments. But, Brian Harman says, ‘give us a box of chocolates for the effort.’
“We make tent visits. We do this, we do that. I play two-to-three pro-ams every week on the Champions Tour and you know we don’t play for a lot of money on the Champions Tour. So I almost feel like OK, I’m not getting a lot out of this. What are we doing?’
“We’ve got to get compensated for that. The LIV tour is giving players that. They play pro-ams, it’s a big party and they play for a lot of money. These guys that are on that tour deserve that money. I think there’s a lot of other guys that deserve that money, especially this old man.”
Daly, 56, was asked specifically if he knew why Norman would not allow him to play in the LIV series.
“Well, Greg says he’s not doing any more and I’m too old, so,” Daly responded.
Daly did leave the conversation on a positive note though and wanted everyone to get along. He’s not a big fan of the consternation that’s hovering over game at the top level.
“To sum this up I wish every tour would get along where everything could work out,” Daly said, “because golf is such a great game.”
Daly missed the cut in both the PGA Championship and the British Open this year. He’s played in 11 events on the PGA Tour Champions and his best finish is a tie for eighth place at the American Family Insurance Championship.