John Daly has revealed how his wild partying ways allegedly influenced the iconic Tiger Woods during a tournament, claiming that in one particular round, he must have gotten Tiger intoxicated “just from his breath” to secure a victory back in the 1990s.
Daly observed Woods’ rise to dominance in the late 90s, while he chose to spend countless hours at the bar and light up cigarettes on the course, contrasting sharply with Woods’ dedication to the driving range and fitness center.
Despite their vastly different approaches to preparation, Daly frequently managed to outplay Tiger, even following particularly wild nights of revelry.
In an interview with Hard Rock Bet, Daly reminisced about one particularly unforgettable evening at the Sherwood Country Club Tournament in 1994, where he consumed two full bottles of Crown Royal whiskey and received a standing ovation for performing Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, yet still defeated the future 15-time major winner by seven shots.
Daly remembered: “I asked him [Tiger] to come have a drink with us-I had a bottle of Crown on the table. My buddy was drinking vodka, and I said, ‘We just finished playing, looks like we’re paired again tomorrow.’ Tiger goes, ‘Yeah, I can’t have one right now. I’m gonna go hit some balls.’
“Couple hours later, I’m still at the table, going through another bottle of Crown with the boys. Tiger walks by again, and I ask him, ‘Where you headed now?’ He says, ‘Going to go work out.’ I said, ‘Come on, man, have a drink with me – we’re playing tomorrow!” But Daly’s attempts to get Tiger out partying fell flat, though he did surprise the golfing legend when he returned dressed in an immaculate tuxedo.
“I’m still in my same slacks and shirt, got crap all over them from the round, ” Daly continued, “Then Tiger comes back, he’s in a tuxedo. I ask, ‘Where you going?’ and he says, ‘We’re in the ballroom in 10 minutes. Where’s your tuxedo?’ I go, ‘What tuxedo?’ I didn’t even know we had a dinner to go to.
“He tells me, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a guitar set up for you. You’re supposed to do a song.’ So I walk into this ballroom, barefoot, shirt stained, untucked, still in my golf clothes – and he hands me this old nylon-string guitar, looked like something Willie Nelson would play.
“Tuners were falling out. I said, ‘Alright, give me five minutes to tune this thing.’ I played ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ and got a standing ovation.”
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Stumbling out of bed and directly onto the course the following morning, still wearing the same golf attire from the previous day, John was greeted with more whiskey on the first tee before teeing off.
“My caddy brings me some Crown to the first tee. I just said, ‘Give me a 3-iron and let’s go,'” he revealed.
“So, I think I got Tiger drunk just off my breath. I shoot 65, he shoots 72. He was a little p—–, but we had a blast.”
