The Angry Golfer: When Will Daly Wise Up?

SOUTHPORT, England -- At what point does John Daly become totally irrelevant? Is there no limit to his blaming others for his endless procession of personal issues, his reluctance to deal with reality or, seeing how we're at the British Open, his poor golf over the last few years? The latest so-called villain in this woeful tale is swing coach Butch Harmon, whom Daly, during his Wednesday news conference, said "kind of destroyed my life for a little bit."

What boggles my mind is why Daly was even invited to the media center. The guy hasn't had a top-10 finish since October 2005 and has made just three cuts in 12 starts in '08. Apparently, the British press requested his presence, surely aware that when Long John Scapegoat gets anywhere near a live microphone, the ensuing maelstrom of unaccountability will produce several pages of tabloid-friendly grist.

This latest pseudo-feud arose after Harmon publicly questioned Daly's behavior during a rain delay at the Pods Championship in March. Butch would soon terminate their working relationship, saying Daly needed to get his life together before they fixed his golf swing, a measure of tough love that rarely flies with those who suffer from chronic self-degradation. In a sense, we are all enablers to the oversized waste of talent that is John Daly.

Someday, the guy may actually realize that. My guess is, "someday" will come a few years too late.

-- John Hawkins