John Daly’s 1991 USPGA Championship victory is one of the greatest golf stories ever told. From being the ninth alternate with no practice rounds to blasting his way to a major championship, Daly shocked the golfing world with his fearless power and “grip it and rip it” style.
This is the story of how a complete unknown became a major champion overnight, inspiring fans around the globe and changing the face of professional golf forever.
If you love golf history, legends of the game, and incredible underdog stories, this one’s for you!
Daly had not made enough money that year to qualify for the 1991 PJ Championship, which was being held at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. Crooked Stick was a Pete Die Design course coming in at 7,289 yards. At the time, it was the longest course to hold the PGA Championship. Daily was on the alternate list, not number one or three, but I was far back enough as ninth alternate to figure I had no chance in hell of getting in. But things started to happen. Jumbo was injured and pulled out. Ronan Rafferty’s wife was expecting a baby, so he didn’t accept. Mark James stayed in England to try and earn more points to make the upcoming RDER Cup team. Kippy Gilbert had an ear infection and didn’t take the spot. Paul Azinger’s right shoulder was hurting, so he was out. On Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours before the start of the tournament, Ken Anderson, a PJ tour admin, called Daily to say that he was now fourth on the alternate list. Jon decided to head down from Memphis to Indianapolis just in case, and to have a drink or two with his best friend, Buzzy Zeller. This nearly 500-mile drive went well into the night. During this, Nick Price finally told the PGA he wasn’t going to play. Nick Price’s wife, Sue, was about to have a baby. The next alternate on the list was Bill Sander. His back hurt, so he didn’t take the spot. Mark Lie got the call and didn’t take it either. Brad Bryant was next up, and due to recent poor play, he didn’t want to embarrass himself at the tournament. Next in line was John Daly. I told the PJ office where I’d be staying. And when me and Betty rolled into the residence in at 2:30 in the morning and got to our room, the message light was blinking. It was Ken Anderson saying, “You’re on the tea at 158 on Thursday.” Nick Price’s caddy, Jeff Squeaky Medlin, was at the tournament already since Nick Price backed out last minute. Daily, without his own caddy, would have Squeaky on the bag for the major. After a big breakfast at McDonald’s with no practice round and playing a course he’s never even seen before, Jon teed it up on Thursday afternoon. Squeaky and I hit it off right from the start. My only strategy was to go out there and kill the thing. Squeaky was down with that. Not once did he advise me to play defensively. He’d hand me the driver saying the same thing. Kill it, John. So that’s what I did. JD didn’t finish his first round until the next morning because play was suspended in the afternoon. Tragically, Lightning hit and killed Tom Weaver, a spectator, as he was walking to his car. John Dailyaly went through his first round without any issues, posting a 69, three under par. He was two shots off the lead held by Kenny Knox and Ian Woo. Friday was even better. He reached the par five fifth hole, which played 600 yds in two shots. Daly shot a 67 and was leading the tournament by himself. a one-shot lead over Bruce Litzky. Toward the end of Friday’s round, a fan stuck his hand out as we walked from the green to the next T- box. I slapped him a high five. No big deal. It just seemed like the natural thing to do, but it caught on. Next thing you know, I’m high-fiving every hand I see. Saturday was another underpar round where he shot 69, a three-stroke lead over Kenny Knox and Craig Stadler. After the crazed media coverage, Jon got invited to an Indianapolis Colts game. At halftime, Jon and his wife Betty went out to the field. I’d never seen a city embrace somebody like that, especially somebody they never heard of three days earlier. I felt like I was the mayor of Indianapolis. After the football game ended, Jon went back to his motel and slept through the night. Sunday morning came around and Daily headed to his locker. There he saw a lot of notes wishing him a successful round, but one caught his eye. There’s a note on there, go get him, from Jack Nicholas. I’m sure many people thought Jon would blow the lead on Sunday. We have seen it time and time again when a player plays unexpectedly well until the final day where nerves and self-doubt take over. John Daly bogeied the first hole. Was he going to choke? He came back with a birdie on number two. He also birdied that huge par five fifth again. Daly owned the par fives this week with one eagle, 10 birdies, and five pars. On the 13th, the par three, he made a 25-footer for birdie. On the par 31 17th, he ended up with a double bogey after having some bunker trouble. Amazingly, he still had a threeshot lead heading into the last hole of this major championship. On the 18th TE, Squeaky didn’t hesitate. He handed me my driver without blinking. The final hole was a par4 with water down the right side. I figured even if I hit it in the water, I could still make bogey and win. I started the first hole on Thursday with this and I’m going to go just as hard here at 77. [Music] [Applause] [Music] John confidently takes his eight iron and hits it 30 ft from the pin. That’s when I began my victory tour, walking right up the middle of the 18th fairway, knowing I’d done it. There was something like 35,000 people at Crooked Stick that day and I felt like every one of them was on my side. John Dailyaly had this par putt left to complete the unbelievable. He had had done it. He won the PJ championship by three strokes and shot all four rounds under par. He won it with a caddy that wasn’t his on a course he’s never played before and at a major tournament he didn’t know he was playing in until 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. He was also the first rookie to win a major since Jerry Pate won the 1976 US Open. One thing Daly has mentioned over the years is just how well Crooked Stick fit his game. He was hitting a nice high draw back then and the course was perfect for a high draw. It also didn’t hurt that he was driving it past all the trouble. Another huge factor here was the caddy Jeff Medlin. Jon has always had high praise for him. Once we got done with that second hole and we had 202 to the pin and I he goes, “What do you think?” I said, “Well, it’s probably an eight iron for me.” He goes, “Okay, now I know you’re four clubs longer than Nick, so we’re good.” And he let me that way the whole week. And I couldn’t have done it without Squeak, though. He was the best. The very best thing about that weekend, aside from winning, was the way the fans rallied around me. They’ve been with me ever since, no matter how I’m playing at the time, no matter how much I’ve screwed up along the way. And it all began in Indianapolis. This victory will remain one of the great stories in golf history. And it catapulted John Dailyaly to overnight stardom.
