Open flashback: Relive John Daly's unlikely victory at St Andrews
Sunday 12 July 2015 17:15, UK
A future star makes his St Andrews debut, a golfing great bids farewell to the Open and a 66/1 outsider claims a dramatic play-off victory. Two decades on, we look back at John Daly's unlikely major triumph...
1995 was the year Arnold Palmer crossed the Swilcan Bridge competitively for one last time and a little-known amateur by the name of Tiger Woods, a future two-time champion at St Andrews, made his first appearance on the Old Course.
Neither made the cut, but the story of the week saw a former major champion steal the headlines with a surprise win.
John Daly came to Scotland without a top-10 finish all year, the 1991 PGA Championship winner arriving with an ongoing struggle with alcohol and the unwanted record of finishing dead last in two of his previous three Open appearances.
Living off a sugar-filled diet of chocolate chip muffins, doughnuts and anything sweet in sight, Daly held a share of the lead for the first two rounds before slipping down the leaderboard with a one-over 73.
After spending Sunday morning eating multiple chocolate-filled croissants and dancing around his room to Wilson Pickett CDs, he began the final round in a relaxed mood despite resuming four strokes adrift of overnight leader Michael Campbell.
Any deficit didn't last long, with 'Long John' reaching the turn with a one-shot advantage thanks to three birdies on the front nine as Campbell bogeyed the fifth and eighth.
That lead had quickly built up to three shots as Daly went to the 16th tee, but he began to show signs of nerves with a three-putt bogey at the 16th and putting his approach at the next in to a horrible position in the sand.
After managing to escape at the first attempt to get away with only a bogey and making par at the last, Daly looked all-but certain to secure a first Open title. Costantino Rocca had other ideas.
Playing two groups behind Daly and with the American sitting smugly back in the clubhouse, Rocca had dragged his second shot at the 17th right and on to the road to the right of the green. Somehow, the Italian saw his putt bobble to within four feet of the flag and nudged in the par-save.
One adrift heading to the last, Rocca came just short of driving to the green after smashing his tee-shot, but then appeared to have ended his hopes by duffing his wedge no more than six feet and sending his ball down in to the ‘Valley of Sin’.
Daly’s smile in front of the TV quickly turned in to a grimace as Rocca, facing a 65 foot uphill putt to save his tournament, drilled in for birdie to send those in the grandstand wild and leave the Italian sinking to his knees in disbelief.
The four-hole play-off didn’t replicate the drama, with the contest seemingly long over before Daly tapped in for par at the 18th to claim a second major title.
Playing the first, second, 17th and last – all par fours – Daly quickly built up a two stroke advantage as Rocca dropped a shot on the opening hole and the American drilled in a 35-foot birdie at the second.
Any hopes of the Italian saving the contest were ended by the Road Bunker, where Rocca took three attempts to get out from on his way to carding a triple-bogey.
Despite Rocca closing with a birdie three, Daly was pressure-free as he nudged in from less than two feet for par, embracing his now ex-wife Paulette after sealing a four-stroke win and the £125,000 prize.
What happened next?
It would take six years for the American to add to his career victories, claiming a one-shot win at the BMW International Open, with Daly struggling just as much off the course as he clearly was on it.
Daly’s admitted to blowing close to $90million on gambling through his golfing career, also battling addictions with cocaine, sex and alcohol as his career continued to spiral.
Victory at the 2004 Buick Invitational alongside eight further top-10 finishes over the following two season briefly moved Daly back in to the world's top 25, before off-course issues produced further unwanted headlines.
Play-off defeat against Tiger Woods in a WGC event saw Daly squander a reported $1.6million in one session on the slot machines, while being found drunk outside a restaurant some years later saw 'Wild Thing' receive a six-month ban from the PGA Tour.
The 49-year-old, set to marry for the fifth time later this year, still regularly appears in tournaments through sponsor invites, showing glimpses of his best with an opening round 65 at Pebble Beach and at the Puerto Rico Open, where Daly produced his strongest finish since 2012 by ending the week tied-tenth.
Five missed cuts in six events during 2015 means the two-time major champion has slipped further down the world rankings, but that St Andrews victory will keep him remembered in Open folklore for years to come.
