Long John Digs Deep

The John Daly circus pitched its tent at the Southern Farm Bureau
Classic, where he shot 76-83 for his third missed cut in a string
of seven tournaments that has also included three withdrawals, a
disqualification and increasingly erratic behavior. Last Friday,
Daly six-putted from less than 15 feet on the par-3 12th, and on
the next hole he took a triple bogey that included a one-handed
swipe at the ball from the rough. Off the course Daly also raised
eyebrows. Though he stayed 75 miles away from the golf course at
the Pearl River Resort and Silver Star casino outside
Philadelphia, Miss., he set up his omnipresent merchandise
trailer in the parking lot of a Hooters in Jackson, not far from
the tournament site. Daly put in long hours peddling his wares on
Wednesday and Thursday but took frequent breaks inside the
Hooters. After cashing a check for $15,000 at tournament
headquarters--"About gave my finance guy a stroke," says
tournament director Robert Morgan--Daly spent gobs of it on tips
for the waitresses. "I'm not going to talk any numbers," says
Hooters manager John Moore, "but he was very, very generous with
the girls. He's welcome back anytime."

What do you say after your first win in five years? At last
week's Longs Drugs Challenge, Helen Alfredsson said this: "I'm
sorry." She also hugged playing partner Pat Hurst, who
four-putted the last green from 80 feet to hand Alfredsson the
one-shot win.

THE POLL VOTE AT GOLFONLINE.COM

THIS WEEK: Now who gets your vote for player of the year: Tiger
Woods, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Jim Furyk or Davis Love III?

LAST POLL: The U.S. has lost the most recent Ryder, Walker and
Solheim cups. All three results were considered upsets. Do the
Americans lose because they don't care as much as their opponents
or simply because they're not as good?

Don't care.....53%
Not as good....47%

--Based on 1,825 responses to our informal survey