John Daly Interview - Buick Invitational
BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2004 Buick Invitational | Final Round | 16 Feb 2004
Joe Chemycz John, congratulations. We welcome John Daly, the 2004 Buick Invitational Championship. Your fifth career win, your first since 1995. Talk about the feeling and being back in the winner’s circle again.
John Daly It feels great. There’s been a lot of ups and downs in those ten years. I just kept fighting and plugging away. There was a battle on the golf course today. It played very hard. I was never really sure what iron to hit even when I did hit a fairway. The pins were pretty tough, but somehow or another, I got it done and I’m just so happy.
Joe Chemycz Take us back to the beginning of the day, your thoughts on the first tee approaching the final round.
John Daly I went out just like I usually do. I tried to hit fairways and good iron shots and give myself opportunities you know, chances for birdies. Like I said yesterday, I’ve been chipping it so well and putting so good, I really didn’t worry so much as long as I missed on the right sides of the green. I felt confident I could get it up and down. The one on 14, I didn’t, I hit a pretty good putt but misread it. Other than that, like in the playoff on 18, I just knew if I got it trickling over the hill there, it’s going to go right or left. It’s kind of a funnel. Lucky enough, it got close enough I could tap it in.
Q. Talk about the decision to go for the pin in two on 18.
John Daly I told Peter, I hit that drive pretty good, and I said if we’ve got 275 or less to the front, I’m going to go for it. He says, well, you’re going to have probably around 260, 262, and that’s exactly what we had. I figured if I can just I thought it might put pressure on those two guys to hit their wedge shots pretty close, but as you could see, it didn’t phase Luke or Chris any. The pressure was on me out of the bunker. I honestly thought Luke or Chris both would make it, or at least one of them would make their putts.
Q. When you saw Chris’s putt, what was going through your mind? Was there any kind of feeling, I finally had something go my way?
John Daly Well, I feel bad for Chris because I know he hit a great putt. What can you say? He kind of got he had a good putt. It probably should have gone in. It does feel good to win. I would much rather have holed my bunker shot out and cleared it that way, than watch him hit a great putt, because I thought we were going to go to the 16th tee.
Q. What were you thinking when it lipped out?
John Daly A lot of emotion, kind of a relief, hey, I finally won again.
Q. Beyond that, what are you thinking about now, about how long it’s been and the struggles and all that? What stands out about the troubles and getting back here?
John Daly It’s just great. It’s a wonderful feeling to win again. Like I said, I think I’ve told a lot of you guys, I think it was mentioned yesterday, if I did win, it was just the sweetest victory. It is because it’s been a long, long time. I’ve won two majors. Nothing can take that away, but I’ve never won a tournament that Tiger has been in the field. That feels good. And this field this week was one of the strongest fields we can have.
And the way Phil Mickelson came back, he played a hell of a round of golf today. To beat those guys, and I’ve beaten them a couple of times where they didn’t win, but to beat them and win the tournament, like they’ve been doing to us for so long it, feels good.
Q. Was there ever a doubt that this day would come again?
John Daly No, I really believe I wouldn’t keep teeing it up on Tour events if I didn’t think I could win. I wish it would come easier. Your nerves don’t react quite as well as when you’re younger. I made some crucial putts coming down the stretch for pars. But no, I mean, I’ve never doubted I knew I could win again. I’ve worked too hard not to. Peter Jacobsen told me, he said no matter what happens, John, the talent never goes away. That stuck with me for a long time.
Q. Talk about the third hole tee shot, what you were thinking.
John Daly We had a great shot. We hit a 7 iron, all the other guys were hitting hard 6s, I just tried to hit a little draw in there. I thought it was going to be laying on the upslope and would be fine. I told Peter, I said, we can still win when I made the 5, when I made the putt, I said we can still win. That was a crucial, crucial putt. I know it was for double bogey, but it kept me going.
Q. (Inaudible)
John Daly To me, it did. I don’t know how you classify it. This golf course played hard today. I felt like I hit a lot of fairways the last two days. I’m sitting there thinking, it’s one of those days everything was so in between clubs. It was just a weird day. You can’t go at any of the flags. There wasn’t a lot of birdie holes out there, I thought. Like the 8th hole, I hit a beautiful 7 iron and I have the most impossible putt to 2 putt because the pin was just barely over the bunker. Even the good shots you had to really think about your putter. My redneck putter did good this week, I can say that.
Q. You had nine or ten cigarettes on the back side.
John Daly I thought I smoked a pack, to tell you the truth.
Q. Is that unusual?
John Daly It was pretty much the same. My slogan is, who needs fitness when you have great equipment, and I’m sticking to it (laughter).
Q. It’s been nine years since your last victory. Are you the same guy or are you different? Do you feel the same?
John Daly I feel like I’m a lot more mature. I have four kids now. Raising them is a blast. I think that kind of makes you more responsible, more aware of what’s going on. It makes you fight. This is great. Whether I play good golf or bad golf, I know when I go back to my bus, I have little John smiling or laughing or I’m changing diapers. And Austin is always happy. And I can’t wait to see my daughters. I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like. But it’s nice to win it for the children. Shauna called me yesterday from Orlando and she was almost in tears, "Daddy, you’ve got to win." I said what are you doing, “Shauna, are you betting the kids at school or what?” She goes, “No. I just want you to win. I love you.” It was Valentine’s day. It’s great for them when they go to school, “My Daddy won again.” That’s going to feel good for them and me.
Q. It seems you won this with your short game. Are you proud of the fact that it wasn’t a bomber course, that you were able to show the other part of your game?
John Daly Any time you win a tournament, you win with your short game. Whether it’s chipping or putting, you win tournaments with your short game. I won the British Open with my short game. I won the PGA with my short game. You can’t win tournaments if you don’t have the short game going.
Q. What are you capable of this year?
John Daly I don’t know. I’m going to enjoy this one and just play it by ear.
Q. You mentioned a minute ago that Jacobsen was telling you that the talent never goes away. Do you consider yourself an underachiever? Do you think you should have won more?
John Daly I don’t feel like I’m an underachiever because I’ve won two majors. I feel like I should have been in more positions to win. Whether it was like Memphis, I guess it was a couple of years ago, Bob Estes played great. I feel like I should have won that the way I was playing. The problem with my career is I haven’t been in those last three or four groups consistently like I said yesterday, like Tiger is, and Davis, and Vijay. They’re consistently in the last groups, week in and week after. That’s something I’m striving on this year. One of my biggest goals this year was not to shoot over par in a round. Considering the circumstances, the golf course played very difficult and I shot 75 in my round and I still won. I’m not counting that.
Q. Does this change how you’re going to approach this year?
John Daly Well, it’s a great feeling knowing I told my wife if I won a tournament I will take her to Hawaii. Being in the Tournament of Champions next year is nice. I’ll be able to go there again. It gives me opportunities to get off to good starts for next year, playing in tournaments. If you get off to a good start there, like Ernie Els and Tiger and them do, if they play real well, that’s just a boost with a short field. It’s a two more year exemption when you win, so I go through 2006 instead of ending it next year. It was very important. A lot of good things can happen out of it. Hopefully I can just stay consistent and stay positive and hopefully do it again.
Q. Will you play more often, do you think, this year?
John Daly I pretty much I’m not sort of a Vijay Singh, I think he played 28 to 30 events a year. I’m more or less 22, 23. He has one child. When you have four kids, it’s tough. I like the schedule I’ve done in the last few years. It’s been consistent. Last year I played myself too hard, playing tournament after tournament after tournament, trying to find something, and I don’t want to do that again.
Q. (Inaudible) was there any doubt in your mind tears were going to come? Are you an emotional guy?
John Daly I’m very emotional, when you deal with the Make a Wish kids that I deal with, and I know they’re all happy, I just know they’re livid right now, they always say, “Can you win one for us?” And I finally did.
Q. What’s your next goal?
John Daly I don’t know if my World Ranking got me down far enough to get into the Masters, at least it’s a step. Hopefully if I keep playing good, I’d like to get back into Augusta. I’m looking forward to Riviera. I heard they made changes, made the course a little longer. I’m looking forward to going there, my friend Peschi, and all the guys at Lakeside, hopefully it will be a good week. I’m just going to take each week at a time.
Q. You said this was the most important win you’ve had. Why?
John Daly Because it’s been a long time. It’s just been it’s been forever since I’ve won one on U.S. soil, since I’ve won a tournament. It means more to me because I got to a point there after ten years of not winning anything, thinking you can win again. Every week I step on the first tee hoping to win, thinking I can win, but to finally do it again, it’s very, very special.
Q. Put yourself in our shoes for a minute. We’ve seen you play, we’ve seen some of the problems. Would you be surprised if you were us that you won this week?
John Daly It’s not really anything for me to say. Everybody goes through ups and downs in life. Mine just happens to be talked about a lot, which I’m very open to it. My weight, I’ve been struggling with my weight for a long, long time. Doctors told me you have to drink more water on the golf course, otherwise you’re going stay dehydrated. I still drink Diet Cokes, but I’m drinking more water.
Everyone goes through problems in life. It’s how we deal with them, get through it. But to answer your question, it really isn’t any of my business if you’re surprised if I won. It’s the nicest way I can put it, I guess. Hopefully it’s just great that I won again, and if some of you are surprised, that’s cool; if you’re not, that’s cool too.
Q. But in a good way.
John Daly I know.
Q. I think a lot of people when they watched today were happy and also a little bit shocked.
John Daly I think it’s cool. (Laughter).
Q. Success is going to breed scrutiny in your life again, probably more than it did before.
John Daly I don’t see how it can get any worse, I really don’t. How could it get any worse, really?
Q. You said you were open to that, you are open to those questions that are going to come out.
John Daly Yes. But like I said before, everybody has problems, it’s just trying to deal with them in the right way. Some things are necessary I feel in my life that I need to talk about and some things kind of aren’t. Like I said, I’m just going to enjoy this win. The hard work has paid off, especially at the end of last year when I won Korea, I got that boost, Callaway, and I played here pretty good the first two weeks. I’ll keep working at it.
Q. From a lifestyle standpoint, is there a better place for John Daly?
John Daly I don’t think so. I’ve got great security around me. I’ve got great friends that have been with me ever since I can remember, that have stuck with me whether I’ve played good golf, when I’ve really messed up, whatever, they’ve been there for me. A couple of shocker friends that I’ll never believe what they did to me last year, but you really find out who your true friends are, and I am a man that has found out who my true friends really are. It’s taken a lot of pain, but it’s good to have the ones you know you can trust around me. I’m a true believer of the old saying, you can almost count them on your hands, and it’s made me aware of what who to look out for, who’s trying to get this, who’s trying to get that. I have people around me who can kind of answer that for me. It’s a great feeling.
Q. How does John Daly celebrate a victory in 2004?
John Daly I don’t know. I’m going to go eat me some food, I know that.
Joe Chemycz John, thank you.
Source – ASAP Sports
