U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 18, 1998

John Daly

JOHN DALY: Just kind of one of those rounds that is very patient, made a lot of pars, and, you know, shooting 2-over on the front 9, I wasn't too discouraged. Getting through those first seven holes, I think are very, very hard. Started hitting a lot more greens in the back 9 and made 3 birdies, and I say 4 because I think I birdied 17. If you make 4 on 17, it is a birdie in my opinion. But, shot 32 on the back, wasn't one of those rounds that I hit it real, real solid. I got some good breaks when I did hit it in the rough. I could actually advance it to the green. So that happened three times. So there is three shots right there, I think. But all-and-all, it was a good putting round, a good chipping around. My bunker play was good. Not carrying a driver, it is kind of tough, but I think it is the only way I need to play the golf course, I think.

JOHN DALY: I have a 3-wood. It is a Callaway Warbird deuce but we added loft on it to make it a 3-wood.

JOHN DALY: No. 1, I hit 3-wood, 5-iron, about 35 feet, 40 feet, 2-putted. 2, I hit it in the right rough with a 2-iron, hit 8-iron on front of the green, chipped up missed a 10-footer for par. 7, trying to remember -- only second time I played the course, so I am trying remember it. Oh, short par 4, hit 2-iron L-wedge, landed about two feet from the hole, ended up off the back, missed a 5-footer for par. No. 9, hit 3-wood, wedge, kind of chipped out, just barely got it out of the rough -- actually kept it in the rough and then had like a 40-yard L-wedge that I barely got on the green and 2-putted for bogey there. No. 10, I hit 2-iron, 8-iron to about eight feet, made the putt. 12, I hit 2-iron, 8-iron, to about 30 feet, made the putt. 15, hit 8-iron about 15 feet, made the putt for birdie. 17, hit 3-wood, 3-iron, 2-putted for birdie, I think.

JOHN DALY: Yeah, I mean, I have given up the driving stat. Our stats on the driving part, it is just ridiculous. I mean, the holes that they have put the driving stats on, we can't hit drivers on. And I am tired of -- the bonuses for Callaway that I would get for winning the long drive is really good. But I have probably wasted 30 shots in six weeks worrying about it. So I am not hitting driver here. So I am going to -- I am giving up the stat now. I am not even going to worry about it anymore. I think it hurts my golf game when all I worry about is hitting driver on the two driving holes to see how far I can hit it; not worrying about what the score is going to be. It is ridiculous. We have a lot of holes on Tour that shouldn't be driving holes, but they are. I have elected to hit drivers, and I have probably made a lot of bogeys and doubles on them.

JOHN DALY: No, I am not carrying the driver. If it is a hard downwind, maybe with a 3-wood. But right now. It is a 2-, 3-iron off the tee.

JOHN DALY: Flying-wise, it is 35, 40 yards probably.

JOHN DALY: I didn't hit it at all on the practice round. I had it in the bag, but I didn't hit it, so, I just elected not to use it today. I, hopefully, won't use it the rest of the week.

JOHN DALY: I don't know. But looked like two little cart trails where my ball was on 4, so I have got to thank Casey Martin for that. (laughter) I mean, it was sitting right in one of those little cart trails, and I hit a 6-iron out of there. So I was very lucky.

JOHN DALY: I am not going to put it in the bag. I mean, honestly, I didn't hit the tee balls all that way. If you look at my stats, I don't think I hit that many fairways. The three fairways -- I probably missed 7 fairways today, and three or four of them that I missed, I was able to get it around the greens where I could make par or have a chance to make birdie. That was the key today.

JOHN DALY: No, this sucks. I mean, I hate it. I don't like it. But it is challenging. Whenever I can't use a driver on 18 holes, it is not good for the fans. But, it is the only way to play this golf course, and, you know, I believe that is the only way I have a chance playing really solid and really well is to leave it out.

JOHN DALY: Oh, yeah, I am rooting for Casey. Anybody that is handicapped and can play our Tour, that shows some talent, he deserves to have that right and that chance to play. I hope he gets his Tour card because I am going to put my clubs on his cart next year when we are playing practice rounds together, and, hell, I may even ride. But I know where my diet Cokes are going. They are going on his cart.

JOHN DALY: Well, take like The Masters, all the Majors in the last three, four years, except for the British Open, I played two practice rounds at the British Open when I won in 1995. I feel like if I get here on Sunday night, I played Monday, played Tuesday, I played Wednesday; by the time I tee off, I have pretty much burned myself out. A lot of players aren't like that. But, the first year I played Augusta, I think I played Tuesday and Wednesday. And being the first year, I was so happy being there, I was anxious to play. But between -- I don't know, you get -- for me I think I get a little burnt out playing it seven times, hopefully, seven times instead of just five. Plus, Brian, my caddie, he maps it out. He just tells me what to hit on the holes mostly anyway. I am just trying a different game plan for the first time since 1995 - come in, play one practice round, you know, don't worry about it, just play, and you don't see all the trouble when you are playing. Like Monday, Tuesday, if you play Monday, Tuesday you are always looking for trouble, it seems. Now I don't even know where the trouble is. I know it is in the rough, but I don't think about it as much. I just concentrate on a target now. Hopefully it pays off, I don't know.

JOHN DALY: Yeah.

JOHN DALY: I hadn't thought about it. I just know Winged Foot was a great golf course for me. I didn't play really that great on the weekend, but if there was a chance to win a major like that one was, I thought I had a good chance because I could hit drivers on some of the holes and get to the par 5s in 2. But here it is totally different. You know, it is just trying to hit it in the fairway, trying to hit it in the middle of the green and trying to hopefully make a putt or 2-putt. That is all there is to it. But, hitting the fairways and hitting the greens are -- you are just not going to hit all of them in an Open. It is very, very difficult. So, I am just -- hopefully I want to stick to the game plan I got and hopefully hit a little more solid off the tees because I didn't hit it that solid today.

JOHN DALY: I think so. Being more at peace with myself, not getting too high when I play good; not getting low when I play bad, just kind of keeping it at an even keel, I think it has helped a lot. In an Open you can't do this, but used to on golf course -- okay, I have got a par 5, I may be playing the 6th and I am thinking about the 17th hole, or the 10th hole. Instead of playing each hole at a time, I am thinking about where I can get shots back. You can't do that here, of course, but I don't do that anymore. I just concentrate on each shot and if I hit it good, I hit it good. If I don't, I don't. That is pretty much the way I have been playing this year.

JOHN DALY: No. Luckily I am not walking -- I don't have the shakes this year like I did then. I am not craving alcohol badly like I did then. When you play a major your nerves are already there and then top it off with the shakes, if you have never been there, you wouldn't understand, so it was a very difficult time. Callaway and all my other sponsors, closest people around me said: You are not ready to play, you are crazy to play. And, I did anyway, but I learned from it. I didn't drink because of what happened. I think walking off after 9, people in the program said it was the smartest thing I could have done. So I was very proud of myself for not going to the back 9 and basically making an ass out of myself, maybe getting mad or doing something stupid, so, I elected to withdraw and the people in the program that I am real close to said it was the smartest thing you have done.

JOHN DALY: Well, I think trying to hit each shot at the same pace. Patience also means you don't have to fire at the flag, in my opinion. Trying to get shots back before you hit them is what I think patience is. Taking a little bit more time around the greens and not forcing things to happen, just try and let it happen. And, that is the only way I can explain it. That is the only way I know how to explain it.

JOHN DALY: It is pretty cool. They spelled it right. But, I think that the guy was around probably 100 years before I was born, so I don't know. But it is pretty neat. Daly City, D-A-L-Y, it is pretty cool.

JOHN DALY: When I went into Betty Ford this was actually the second time in rehab. The first time I didn't listen to anybody. I didn't want to be there. But I found out -- I let myself find out how many people have the disease. I don't know how many letters I got. I know I still got probably 1,500 letters when I was in the Betty Ford that I haven't even opened yet. So, allowing myself to meet people to go to the meetings and let them me hear their story and talk about it. I didn't do that before. Now I can't live without those people. There is just no way. Only way I am going to stay sober is surround myself around those people. And, I think a lot of fans relate, not only just drinking, but everything else that has happened in my life. I just think a lot of fans can relate and, you know, alcohol is a tough disease. I am very fortunate that I am the doctor and if I want to go out and kill myself, I can go to the liquor store. But, I can't do that on a day-to-day basis without those fans that write letters and the people in the meetings and all that. And allowing myself to do that this time is very positive for me.

JOHN DALY: Thanks.