Serial killers and shagging on the green: golf’s dirtiest dogs (part two)

Buckle in for part 2 of our Ryder Cup of wrong’uns, with sordid sagas starring the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo and John Daly, the king of hooters.

Plus a golfer who killed five men, and inside the secret parties where escorts are stationed on each green….

Get an extra bonus episode of The Upshot every week when you join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/upshottowers

00:00 Intro
01:01 Dustin Johnson’s affair with Ryder Cup teammate’s wife
06:01 Seve Ballesteros lady’s man
12:02 Nick Faldo’s many marriages
18:16 Undercover prostitutes
22:19 Titanic Thompson
26:14 Doug Sanders
29:26 John Daly – “Tiger has nothing on me”
41:00 Alejandro Tosti – holes in one, champagne and alligators

Welcome back to the Upshots Rider Cup of Rongans. It’s part two. Greggy still here. Hello, mate. Hello, mate. We’ve flown him back. The smoking mirrors. Yeah, exactly. That was that was a busy old weekend you’ve had. And then just straight back to the upshot for part two. Yeah. Um, obviously in part one, we relived Tiger Woods’s shagging exploits, his romantic journey from high to low and back again. And of course, we talked about Phil Mickelson getting his knob out at the dinner table to show his friends wives. Um, if you haven’t listened to part one already, do do go back and listen. But we’re now going to meet many, many more wrongs. Uh, yes, John Dailyaly is in there. We can’t can’t talk about golfing wild men without going into depth about him. Um, but I mentioned at the end of part one that there was a member of the current tour who dabbled in a bit of extracurricular and you know who someone who’s really taken the torch on from Tiger Woods on the tour and I am of course speaking of DJ Mr. Dustin Johnson who I mean it’s pretty well known that he was something of a party animal. He he obviously he was banned for 6 months in 2014 um which turned out to be a positive test for coke, his third failed drugs test. So yeah, I mean he’s doing a a bit of beer, drugs, and partying on the side. But um around that time, journalist Robert Lucetic came forward uh with a bit of extra interesting info. He said, “It’s not a huge secret either that Dustin Johnson had affairs with two wives of PGA Tour players. One broke up the marriage.” Mhm. And I’m pretty sure that those players are Will McKenzie and Jimmy Walker. Yeah. Will McKenzie lesserk known. Jimmy Walker not. So they played on a Ryder Cup team together. And um I mean it was crazy. I mean Jimmy Walker is a fellow major winner, right? You know the guy won the USPGA I think 2012, something like that. So he was he was right at the top of the game for a long time, but everybody knew. So you’d go to a golf tournament where Jimmy Walker was and like it’d almost be like a little titter from the spectators because you’d go, “Oh, there he is.” And he’d get, you know, he’d get heckled. He’d get a bit of how’s DJ Jimmy and all that which is like really bad. You know, he’s just been divorced like from your wife cuz that was the one that did split up the marriage which is like cuz Will McKenzie did split from his wife as well but when they split they were like it has nothing to do with those rumors. Yeah. But yeah, Jimmy Walker and the wife. Yeah. It’s bad, right? Yeah. So that was that was a whole thing because they played on the same RDER Cup team and I think it was like do we pair them together? No, obviously not. So, they do work well together, but So, yeah. Um, I’ve I’ve sort of been in DJ’s orbit a little bit. I mean, you know, he’s he’s married to Paulina Gretzky. Um, as I’m sure you’re going to mention that. And, um, you know, who’s the daughter of the NHL god that is Wayne Gretzky, who’s also a bit of an odd guy cuz like, you know, he’s obviously Canadian, but now lives in Florida. um not he’s not odd because he’s Canadian but but because um you know obviously with the Trump and the 51st state and all this stuff like there’s a lot of Canadians who put a lot of stock into what Wayne Gretzky says. I can’t actually say how famous this guy is um in in Canada um and how much he’s revered but his stock seriously plummeted since he’s kind of like been playing a bit of golf with Trump. Oh is he basically like yeah let’s join the USA. Well, he’s just not said anything, which I think for the Canadians is, you know, worse. So, uh, it’s an awkward position to be in. It is. Yeah. And then DJ himself, you know, he’s obviously, you know, Wayne Gretzky’s son-in-law, uh, plays a lot of golf with Trump, you know, the Live Connection now, and they sort of do all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, very, very weird. But I’ve been in his orbit a couple of times. I was actually visiting a mate in in West Palm Beach in Florida, and I was in a bar where it was only a pokey little thing, you know, it was a tiny thing. It was just nothing special. Um, there was no VIP section or anything like that. It was literally just a bar and a load of Yanks with, you know, cocktail sticks in the mouth. Terrible joint. Anyway, the whole place for, you know, for 30 seconds all of a sudden has this weird atmosphere and, you know, what’s going on? And, you know, almost felt like the music had stopped. It hadn’t, but it was like, oh, what’s going on here? And there was like these four guys in blazes kind of darting around the place going to all all corners. And then they sort of looked over to the door, waved the waved the door um dorman to sort of let this bloke in. And the bloke was Dustin Johnson. So it was like for his posi basically who sort of scoped out the joint and waved him in. And um I’m not going to say how long ago this was, but um yes, there was definitely a few narcotics being trips. There was. Yeah, there was. Definitely. Yeah, I think he’s kind of been open that like, yeah, I’ve used drugs. It’s not actually my issue. My issue was just like not like just not just partying too hard. Yeah. Yeah. Basically that sounds like the same thing to me. I would say his issue is [ __ ] his friend’s wives. Yeah, that was that’s also a bit of a problem. But he’s moved on, hasn’t he? Him and Paulina seemingly seemingly. Yeah, seemingly. Yeah, they’re kind of the golden couple couple of live golf. Yeah, they are. Yeah, if that’s what if that’s what you aspire to be. Title to be. They’re all good. What I will say on DJ is that I don’t care about him going to live and all that stuff because he’s never lied about it. He goes, I just want why would I I want to work less and earn more money. Yeah, fine. You know, good honesty. He’s not SL he’s not bad anybody. He’s not [ __ ] on the doorstep on the way out of the PJ tour. And actually, he’s always quite affable. Like there’s all these clips of it’s like, “So DJ, how do you hit a fade? You know, talk us how you hit the shot from left to right.” and he’ll go, “Well, I stand over it and I just just try and hit a fade.” It’s like, “Really good instructional videos. Well done, mate.” Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, he’s he his public persona is quite a like enjoyable one. Unless you’re poor old Jimmy Walker. Uh, now we’ve talked a lot about shaggers, but See Balisteros was right up there. his uh the the legend goes that his hotel room during majors would have a line of groupies forming an orderly queue at the door and I don’t actually think people often say that’s not exaggeration. No. Um but what is that like you I mean you you can’t shank that many people. No, probably can you James? You don’t know. You know that he he was called the matador for a reason. Um, I think he’s like, you know, Sevy, Seby’s got this incredible I mean, look, you know, the guy’s been dead 10 years, but like I still talk about him like as if he’s like God, you know, I love I love Sevi Balisteros and um, you know, charisma on the golf course personified. Incredibly handsome dude. I kind of compare him mainly probably just cuz he’s Spanish but a little bit to like what Carlos Alcarath is now like with in the tennis but like with a bit more of like the freewheeling ability to do the what the [ __ ] he wants because you know there was no camera phones and there was no PR machine you know it’s like Carl Alcarath 30 years ago I mean think of the damage you know whereas now a carath has to just be a very pleasant very likable guy a very likable guy tow the party line speak you incredibly English to give the encore interviews. Sebie always had that kind of broken, you know, even right up until he died, you know, when he’d been the RDER Cup captain and played in America and done all these corporates and stuff. His his English still wasn’t amazing. Far better than our Spanish, I was hastening to add. But like he just Yeah. He he had that like I mean everybody loved him. Everybody loved him. So a queue of people outside his hotel room door, I can see it. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I’m sure they’re just getting autographs and stuff. Um, actually I think the key thing for Sevy is he was single for most of his life. So the press weren’t doing the kiss and tell thing in the same way. They couldn’t really justify them. Yeah. Um, so there’s actually not that many like warts and all accounts of shagging him. Although one woman did provide one and that is Liz Hod. um who is a former professional golfer and page three girl uh who went on to have relationships with a number of famous names including F1 Playboy James Hunt um who we’ve talked about before. Big shagger and the royal photographer Patrick Lichfield who I don’t really know what his bag is. Okay. All right. Hard one to process in my brain. Anyway, she said of Sevy, she said he was my first lover and the best I’ve ever had. Well, there you go. Losing your V place to Sevy Bad Steros is a pretty good gig if you’re a golf fan especially. Yeah, it’s decent. Yeah, good good from uh Yeah, good from Sevy. Well, good from Liz. Yeah, well, she was actually less complimentary about James Hunt. She said that he made love wearing earphones cuz he liked to listen to Meatloaf. Oh, no. What What’s that all about? So, I get I mean that I guess we’re into that’s got to be 80s Walkman. Yeah. Yeah. Famously Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m think I’m picturing AirPods here. It isn’t. Yeah. big big sort of heavy Panasonic numbers plugged into a tape deck. Yeah. That’s on the bed next to you. Yeah. And meatlo probably the song is I do anything for love, but I won’t do that. Um but but this is the rumor about Leonardo DiCaprio always is that he has sex with AirPods in. Oh, really? Yeah. supposedly DiCaprio when you shag him it’s sort of like you go into one room his lawyers are there do the end do the NDA and then you go into the main room and um you shag and he doesn’t look you in the eye and he he has AirPods in the whole time and then someone I know knows someone who shagged him claims to anyway um said that I I was like what everyone’s always said what is it what music is it a podcast apparently it’s like whale noises you know like the sound of whales mating that is psychic meditative behavior really psychotic. That is really So Meatloaf actually feels a bit more charming. Put it on the speakers so we can both enjoy it. Just to clarify, that was James Hunt and not that would really actually ruin my image of Sebie. Yeah, know that was James Hunt who we will do an episode on sometime cuz he’s he got up to all sorts. Um, as for Liz, if you’re wondering what she’s up to these days, in 2012 she was blacklisted by Wentworth Golf Club. Oh, really? She says it’s cuz they found out she was a page three girl. I wonder if it was also cuz she did a kiss and tail on Sevy Ballister, but quite a charming one. She was nice about him. Well, that’s Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And I was going to say there’s a lot worse people at Worth than that, but you know, especially these days, but you also can get black ball there quite easily, can’t you? Cuz it just takes a few members. Yeah, of course. Yeah. I’m sure Kevin Peterson got black there. Yeah. And he’s got a house right next to the golf course as well. So, it’s like looking over your back fence every day. You’re going, “No, I’d move. Sell the house.” Once you got that, you would, wouldn’t you? Andrew Strauss is a member, I noticed. So, yeah. Yeah. And um anyway, in 2019, Liz announced that she changed tac entirely. Here’s the headline. Model plans to marry her dog after giving up on men after 220 failed dates. And she’s got the dog in a little top hat and she’s in a wedding dress. Lovely. Sorry, we’ve drifted quite a lot from Sevy Palace. Liz Hod was a professional golfer, though. Yeah. Well, there you go. So, she’s got her own spot on this list. Yeah. I couldn’t find that much else on Sevie, which is weird because he’s known as such a ladies guy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But because I think basically no one’s annoyed about it. No. So, and the press love him as long as he wasn’t um upsetting people. I’m sure he broke a lot of hearts, but but like I you don’t he wasn’t doing what Tiger was doing where barefaced lying, you know, straight to everybody, you know. I I think actually Sebie everybody knew everybody was fine with it. It was part of his personality, wasn’t it? The fact that he was quite clearly discharged and it was kind of different times. I think if you’re just single and enjoying it, then yeah, you know, go for it. I highly recommend the Sevy Biopic. It’s not sorted. There’s no shagging in it, but it’s very, very good. Really? Yeah. Really good. Check that out. Yeah. Is there a sorted version? I’m sure there’s there’s there’s there’s room for one to be commissioned. Well, one man who should have taken Seby’s advice to stay single is uh one of the few Brits on the list. It is Knight of the Realm, Sir Nick Faldo. uh who yeah he makes our list because his incurable shagging habit cost him $25 million in divorce settlements. Yeah. So just keeps marrying him. So his first marriage actually ended before he won a major. So I think that was all like relatively you know just straightforward stuff. Um although he said of that marriage we were happily married for 8 months. Unfortunately we were married for 4 and a half years. That’s a classic Faldo line actually. Yeah that’s quite good. It’s good. He has got some good quips in him. He then remarried for 9 years until he met 20-year-old American golfing student Brena Sephilac. Uh who he left his wife Jill for in quite public circumstances. Was a bit undignified, wasn’t it? Um and after that Jill, his ex-wife branded she said Nick socially is a 24 handicapper. That’s very good actually. And that’s the sort of [ __ ] that he would hate as well. What’s weird about that is I he does a lot of commentary and he’s very good. Yeah, he’s really good. He’s a smooth talker. I like him. So, does she just mean that he’s like missing a bit of like empathy and kind the milk of human kindness? I’ll tell you now. So, I saw Faldo. So, he got kned I think in about 2009. I reckon I saw him in 2012 2013 and he was being fied past me on a golf buggy at at a tournament and he was sat on the back and everybody had sort of seen this buggy coming, you know, people just walking. It’s like in the tented village bit where you get your hot dogs and all that and this buggy was whizzing past and he was going, “Excuse me, Knight of the Realm coming through.” And I actually I thought that was quite funny, right? I thought if he’s taking the piss, that’s that’s funny. Double. Yeah, it’s like it’s quite quite funny, right? Um because that’s also his humor. It’s kind of like that and I think it’s a lost on a lot of people but he um and I mentioned this to somebody who knew who’d been around him for years and he said oh no that that’s not a joke that’s him being deadly serious and I went what but then on the but that’s the sort of thing he’d say on the commentary is a joke like the like the you know the the quip there about the you know we were happily married for eight months but we’re actually married for four and a half that’s funny right so I’m not sure I’m I’m not sure if he is socially awkward strikes me as a guy who can laugh at himself Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. There’s a bit of Alan Partridge there. Big time. Yeah. Big time. I know he pisses a lot of Thankfully I don’t have to watch the majors on Sky because I’m always Yeah. doing on a different channel. But like um I know when he did the Masters this year, people getting seriously [ __ ] off with him constantly talking about when I won the Masters and Well, yeah, Rory’s won the Masters, but I won it three times and like constantly doing that. People like, “Shut up.” That’s sort of the same as the Night of the Realm thing, isn’t it? Yeah, to be fair also, he keeps saying he’s retiring and then he gets [ __ ] divorced and has to come back to work. You probably expect him to leave. Um, well, the relationship with Brena, the 20-year-old golf student, lasts 3 years, but it does come to an end when he meets the lovely Valerie, a Swiss PR agent. Um, and he swiftly broke up with Brena, who, you know, she responded like you or I would. She picked up one of his golf clubs and smashed in the windcreen of his 200 grand Porsche, which I quite rate. Uh Nick said later, “I was praying she didn’t use my best clubs. You should have heard me sigh with relief when I found out she picked up an old wedge I’d left lying in the garage.” Again, that is funny. It’s good. It’s a good guy. Some people would refuse to talk about that story. 100%. But he he’s quite an open book. Yeah, he’s good. Anyway, he he married the fragrant Valerie in July 2001 and declared, “This one’s going to last.” Which again is funny, I think. Yeah. Yeah. It’s quite He’s owning it. Uh but unfortunately by 2006 he’d filed for divorce again and was facing a 15 million pound settlement. Um Valerie’s dad was interviewed about the divorce and he said it’s not the first time he Nick has bought something and changed his mind. Bought something your daughter. Very demeaning. Yeah. Of your own daughter. He bought a Bentley recently but once he had it he was bored with it after a month and got rid of it. Maybe that’s what he’s like with wives. Sort of get your point. But you are talking about your daughter like she’s a cop. Weird. And then in 2021, Nick made it wifey number four when he married the current Mrs. Faldo. Mhm. Who Who’s Lindsay Demarco? Yeah. Who calls herself, by the way, Lady Lind? Yeah, Lady L. Oh, is that because of the sir? Yeah. Uh, I kind of love it. Yeah, I kind of love it. Yeah, which is funny when when you know what’s next. Yeah. So, Lady Lind is a former topless dancer who she can’t she was interviewed and she couldn’t remember how many times she’d been married. So, the answer is six including two to the same man. Oh my goodness. Um but yeah, she she when they asked her she couldn’t remember. So, it’s actually a perfect match, I think. Anyway, Lindsay Lindsay was once named Mrs. Conservative USA. Not sure that’s a title you want to be going for. Lady Lind, she won it. You’ll never sing that. Um and uh that’s actually opened some doors for Fowl though because last year Donald Trump who she’s she’s matey with Trump Lindsay. She knew his well his family. Yeah. He probably was you know joining in when she was having a they know each other from Palm Beach. We’ll put it at that. And last year Trump touted Nick for a role in his administration because he’s such a fan of his quote beautiful wife. So Trump told a rally in Montana, he said, “I think we need to bring Nick into the government because we like to get other people to fold.” And his nickname is Faldo because he makes everyone fold. But his name is Faldo. Just to clarify, just rambling on. Almighty. He is just funny, isn’t he? Probably called him handsome and probably talks about how he’s [ __ ] Yeah. Well, the fact that he hasn’t mentioned Fo’s [ __ ] I think, is telling. I think that suggests he’s not not one of the true grays. He’s no Annie Farmer. Um anyway, you know, See, Sir Nick, they can rely on dashing looks and major titles to woo their love interests, but down the pecking order, it can get quite a lot more transactional. I regret to inform you. Yeah. Um like for Tommy Two Gloves Gayy, who people might not have heard of. He had a peak ranking of 84 on the PJ tour. He’s no mug and he he always wore two gloves. But he became national news back in 2019 when he was in Florida for this charity tournament. Where else? And the night before he thought he’d unwind by paying a a little visit to the local brothel. Um and he met with a with a lady who worked there, but unfortunately she turned out to be an undercover police officer working as part of Florida’s operation Santa’s naughty list. It’s a It’s a great name for an operator. December as well, needless to say. Yeah. I mean, again, Florida. I like these comedy police operation titles. Yeah. It’s good, isn’t it? Yeah. So, Tommy was busted. Yeah. Poor fell. Tommy was busted. Can you do that with police? You can just pretend to be a prostitute. Or maybe they were just watching. I don’t know. Entrament uh is is fine in the States, isn’t it? Yeah. It seems like in Florida. Yeah. And on Dog the Bounty Hunter, if you ever watched that? Yeah, I’ve watched that sadly. Yeah. Weirdly not in Florida, but feels like Florida. It’s in Hawaii, but same vibe. Um, anyway, there was a similar fate as Tommy for for Johnny Del Pre, who’s the boyfriend or was the boyfriend of Jessica Corder, who’s quite a major star, isn’t she, on the So, she’s the sister of Nelly Corder, who is the current world number one. And also the brother, um, her brother is Seb Corder, who’s a top 40. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Big golfing family. Unfortunately, Johnny was caught by police who raided a spa at 3:23 a.m., which uh it’s hard to claim you’re just getting a salt scrub and a pedicure at 3:23 a.m., 24-hour spa. That police operation also caught Robert Craft, the um he’s a major American businessman, isn’t it? Yeah. Yeah. And he owns the I want to say the Patriots. He owns one of the big American American sides. And we talked about him recently because Putin stole his Super Bowl ring off his finger. But really, well, Craft showed it to him and Putin just put it on his finger and walked off. Bonkers. You’re not You’re not getting that back. So good. Yeah. But yeah, Craft was up to no good. Caught on a on a raid. I sort of thought Cra Robert Craft, a man that rich, would have like more of a setup than just getting caught. Yeah. But it all goes back to Tiger Woods, doesn’t he? On that first episode where it’s get done by the police. Feels careless. Yeah. Careless. That’s all it was. Careless. Careless. Um, finally on the um vice element of this story. So, back in 2004, two California golf course managers were put under house arrest after staging a competition where prostitutes and strippers were stationed on the putting greens. So, 17 of these women just set up tents and advertise their services on boards on each green. I guess maybe the first green sponsor a hole quite quite literally even for me that was that was that was really getting into the spirit of the upshot wasn’t it? Yeah that’s that’s worse than Phil Mickelson’s bum hole that so so these women are stationed on greens and 160 golfers paid $200 a piece for the to attend. Okay. Um many of them showed up without any clubs. Yeah, I was going to say it’s good rate for a green fee, but understandably Yeah, I think you’ve got to at least go through the motions of playing the course. Yeah. I mean, also explain that to your wife, you know. Oh, I’m playing a charity golf day actually up up there at Santa Fe Golf Club or whatever it is. Yeah. Brilliant. All right. And then like, you know, 2 hours later, it’s on the she’s just like folding up, you know, some some stuff or collecting an Amazon parcel, putting it in the garage, notices that there’s uh the clubs are still there. What are they doing here? Honey, did you forget your clubs? Yeah, I hired a set today actually trying out. Yeah. Yeah, that’s a bad one to get caught in. Showing up without your clubs for me is crossing the line. Yeah, he’s a little bit, isn’t it? At least just pretend. Uh, now one man who was far too wy to get caught up in that sort of caper was Titanic Thompson. So, I’m taking you all the way back to the roaring 20s. Now, Craigy, one of the first stars of the game is this fell. He was born Alvin Clarence Thomas, but he became known as Titanic Thompson. And he decided not to turn pro because he was making more money hustling people. So, he would hustle at sort of country clubs, these rich guys. Uh where his main hustle was he would beat them right-handed and then he’d go, “All right, double or quits.” And they’d be like, “Don’t think I want to play you again.” He goes, “All right, I’ll play left-handed.” So, they would. And of course, he was ambidextrous. He was actually better on his left, so he beat them again. Um he was married five times. He married a few famous actresses from the era, but mainly he was an ineterate gambler. Yeah. Um he had a number of like cons that he would pull. Like he would bet people that he could throw a walnut over a building. They wouldn’t know that he’d actually weighted it with lead so it would travel more. Um he also once bet someone that he could drive a golf ball 500 yards. This is a time where people the best were driving 200. Yeah. I mean I mean nobody drives it 500 yard. Yeah. Exactly. What’s Shombo like 480? No, not even that. you know, he’ll carry it 350 like Yeah. So, how did he win this bet? Well, he waited until winter and drove it onto a frozen lake, which apparently will send a ball bouncing for a long, long distance. Um, he also, I should mention, killed five men. What the most mental thing is Titanic Thompson never faced any charges. So, the first was in 1910 in rural Arkansas when uh Titanic Thompson, he’s playing dice on this boat, and he wins the boat they’re on as as a bet. Nice. And the bloke he beats is so pissed off, he accuses him of cheating and throws him into the water, Titanic. So, he’s he’s in the drink. It’s all looking nasty. Manages to climb back in, at which point the bloke threatens Titanic’s girlfriend as well with a knife. And so, he um grabs a hammer. Titanic whacks this bloke over the head and uh chucks him overboard. Self-defense. Really? Oh my goodness. Do we know why he didn’t get charged for this stuff? Yeah. So, apparently the um first of all, that was self-defense and he had a witness, but the sheriff said to him, “You can either stay here and face a trial or you can hand over the boat and I’ll let you leave the state.” No way. 1910. Good. Good. Corruption. I don’t know what Arkansas’s like in 1910, but he gave him the boat wisely and lived to tell another tale. As for the other four murders, so two of them were killed in self-defense when they tried to rob him of his gambling winnings in St. Louis. Wow. Um, actually on that occasion, the local police chief thanked him because they were wanted bank robbers. He’s getting lucky, this guy. It’s kind of like bounty hunting though, isn’t it? In this era, I think you could kill someone who was Yeah. He was who was wanted. Yeah. Dead or alive. Yeah. Um, another time he shot a guy who was trying to rob a poker game. Again, self-defense. Thanked for it. And then the final one was he was in a country club in Texas in 1932 and uh this masked figure approached and held Titanic up at gunpoint and it turned out to be 16-year-old Jimmy Frederick who had caddied for Thompson earlier that day. Oh my gosh. Fancied his winnings and uh yeah he he shot him. That’s un quicker on the draw. That is unbelievable, isn’t it? That’s so good. I didn’t know half of that. That’s brilliant. Quite the life. Yeah, that’s that’s a good He also was invol he also was involved in what was called the crime of the century. He fixed a poker game that caused this New York City crime boss, Arnold Rothstein, one of the first Mr. Bigs, to be in debt for $500,000 and Rothstein refused to pay it and someone killed him. Oh wow. It’s a big deal. Yeah. So a real a real um giant of the era. And he was pretty good at golf as well. Did I mention that? Slightly different to like Birdard Langanger, you know. Very similar. Professional golfers. All the same. All the same. I’ve actually got another oldtime classic for you. This guy was more more prolific on on the on the professional circuit. Doug Sanders. Yeah. Doug Sanders. Yeah. Fame chagger. Colorful outfits. Real maverick figure in the 50s. He actually he had a insanely difficult childhood. He grew up in the Great Depression picking cotton. Didn’t get his first pair of shoes until he was 12. Yeah. Um and he he was Yeah. He was just picking cotton until he tried cadding on the local 9-hole course and discovered his two passions. Firstly, golf and secondly knobbing. So, uh, he lost his virginity in a ditch aged 11. Uh, he said it was on the way back from the course and she was the pro. What can I tell you? I enjoyed it and just kept doing it. By the way, that means he lost his virginity a year before he wore his first pair of shoes. That’s bonkers. There’s not many people who can say that. No, you again. You’ll never sing that. Um but by my by the age of 23 he was a a major player hanging around with a rat pack you know Frankie Valley and and all the others Dean Martin he said later it was hard running with the rat pack and not do what these guys did blondes tonight no we had blondes last night let’s go for redheads so they’re just yeah proper proper shagg that’s the sort of era where you’re like bumping into JFK and [ __ ] it’s Bing Crosby and all that type isn’t it yeah like dirty old dogs that lot Yeah. Yeah. Big time. Yeah. That was that was the game. That is Yeah. Sadly for Doug, he never won a major, but he came as close as you can. He choked on the final hole of the 1970 Open. Yeah. And he lost and then he it went to which when they used to do an 18hole playoff the next day. So So yeah, I know. Not now like they do sudden death or whatever or three holes at most. They had to come back the next day. So think about that. Think about that now. Right. All the TV companies I know sometimes happens. get bad weather now, but like 180 all playoff, everybody comes back, all the volunteers, all the concession stand workers, all the, you know, people who are involved in the infrastructure, everything like that just to watch two BS slug it out. And uh yeah, Jack Nicholas was the man that beat him. Ice in his veins certainly compared to Doug Sanders. Yeah. Um yeah, that’s as close as he came then. That’s a real painful show. seriously like great career like you know like everybody knows Doug Sanders mainly because of what we’re talking about but hey if he’d have won the open it would be a different thing he said that himself but he was like you know I was rich in other ways um he did in later life he developed this condition where he would uncontrollably twitch um which meant that he had to bite his collar while putting um in the end he was it was making him so miserable he called a hitman called Tony and said whack me arranged it all set it up. And then the day before the guy was due to whack him, he um he went and saw the doctor one last time and the guy was like, “Look, there is this experimental treatment. We should just try it. It’s 50/50.” And uh so he said, “I did it. I was in a coma for 10 days, but I I lived on so I stood Tony down.” That’s amazing. Another way he obviously just knew a hitman from his like rat hack days crime boss pals. So good. rather than, you know, sticking the car exhaust through into the into the window. I’ll get I’ll get waxed. People can pretend it was a hit. Exact. Brilliant. So cool. That’s rock and roll. Love it. Yeah. Speaking of rock and roll, everyone we’ve mentioned in these two parts so far has had a wild streak. But none of them can none of them can really match the combination of romance and unapologetic chaos as the people’s champion John Dailyaly. Would you agree with that? I I I think in terms of like famed I mean his legacy his legacy will be like how on earth he had the career he did whilst doing all the stuff off course that he did and like there’s people now who haven’t even seen him play you know I barely remember him playing John Dailyaly um and like people love him like it just lives on and obviously was in Happy Gilmore 2 recently oh it’s good he plays a he can act I can tell you He can act. He plays Uncle John. So, he’s basically like he lives in Happy Gilmore’s house and like he lives in the garage and he’s [ __ ] he’s really good actually. Really [ __ ] good. But yeah, but like living up to the whole character swigging like you know ethanol and all that stuff. It’s quite funny. But yeah, I it’s it’s it’s partly like the career. It’s partly just the fact that he doesn’t give a [ __ ] Yeah. And obviously the madness. Uh, I mean like we we did an episode on it that if you’ve enjoyed this, you will [ __ ] love that daily episode. So, go back and listen to it. Um, but just to briefly tell the story, the best bits. He was an unknown rookie in 1991 when he got a late spot at the PGA Championship. Right. So, someone pulled out cuz their wife was having a baby and John Daly was the ninth choice alternate. All the others couldn’t make it and he had to overnight hung over drive across America to make the tour. I think he slept on the back seat and his friend drove. Yeah, that’s right. Got there no time for a PLA practice round and then against the odds I think he shoots like 69 on the first day. Yeah. And ends up he goes on to win. You know, this is a major championship. So, the world’s best golfers and they all say that the PGA is like the strongest field in golf. Every good player plays in the PJ championship. And uh yeah, JD turns up, you know, hung over, no practice round, no sleep, not seeing the course. Bang. Wins it. Wins it. Incredible. That’s what people love about him. It’s the like he hasn’t It feels like he’s getting by on like pure natural ability. Absolutely. Which is just more sexy, isn’t it? Nobody has ever ridden natural ability in the way that John Dailyaly has. And I think that that contributes so much um to the, you know, the kind of the lore of him really. And also the fact that, you know, he turns up, he’s got like a blonde mullet. Then this is this is in the days of country club kids with, you know, beige slacks, baggy Pringle jumpers with diamonds on, and he turns up, he’s got like a Reebok sweater on, and long, you know, and big mullet, no cap with no sponsor, goes out, plays. And actually on the broadcast, he is I think on the on our previous on the podcast episode we did it, he he is drinking a beer down the 18th. He nicks one off somebody in the crowd and drink just to steady himself walking down the final smoking the whole way around as well. Yeah, it’s it’s it’s it’s just a total gear shift from what people are used to. How can you not be charmed by it? Um as he said, money poured in like piss on a flat rock and it wasn’t all good news cuz suddenly he’s a mega star. Yeah. He estimates over the course of his life he’s lost $55 million in gambling. That’s crazy. That is mental. But he’s kind of like I had a good time. Yeah. I mean, he will now just sit on a slot machine for like a day just leaving to go to the bogs, which should be depressing and kind of is, but he loves it. Yeah, it’s so good. He also said that he once during an argument with one of his wives, he um he had just won $50,000 and had it in cash and they’re arguing in the car and he just opened the window and threw it off the freeway. Amazing. Again, it’s just like something I really love some of the people we speak about is like they even though this guy’s like gambling loads and stuff, money isn’t the focus for them. there’s something else that they care about. Yeah. It’s it’s an entertainment thing, you know, like he he I’ve, you know, you see the videos circulating of him still where he’s like, you know, he turns up and he’s got no shoes on, gets out of the car and he’ll he’ll go he’ll go, “Right, where is the first T and what’s the course record?” And he’s like got a [ __ ] on and a beer in his hand. It’s brilliant. Doesn’t warm up and like he’s obviously plays up to it now. He you know he has to. It’s his caricature. It’s how he kind of gets by and makes his money. Um but he is fun. Oh, he’s brilliant. He’s He’s brilliant. Is it so good? I think we’ve talked before about his intake of food and drink, his daily intake, but it bears repeating. So, every day in his peak eating years, he said he would have three to four trips to McDonald’s, uh, where he’d have two Big Macs, two or three cheeseburgers, chocolate shake, regular Coke. Uh, then he’d have a Burger King and a Taco Bell, four to six packs of M&M’s, multiple packs of chocolate muffins, chocolate ice cream, 12 to 20 diet cokes, over 40 cigarettes, and no water. He said, “I don’t drink water. I hate water. I cannot stand to drink water. It’s so strong. So good.” Brilliant, isn’t it? I saw him actually at a um at like an after dinner thing not that long ago. I reckon after we did our podcast where somebody asks him about shagging and they say to him how much you know h how much was there of that you know for you and I bet it came easy and all that when this is like at a golf club in Northern England and I’m thinking [ __ ] that’s a bit of a rogue question to ask him. He [ __ ] loved it. He was like yeah he was like I I you know he was like I loved it. He’s like, and again, you know, he he used Tiger as the yard stick and he said, you know, Tig Tiger was Tiger was obviously great, but he was like, he’s got nothing on me. I thought, how good is that? Just said it in an open forum. So good. So good. And but, you know, the quality may not have been probably up there, but we’ll see. I think with Tiger Woods, there’s there’s like an organized organization to it that John Dailyaly probably did. John Dailyaly story and vibe is like a like a country music star, isn’t it? That like tragedy, the boozing, the women. Well, he does his country music, doesn’t he? He actually plays. Yeah. You were the one who showed me his album, Whiskey and Water. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve still got it on my whiskey. Can’t stand to drink water. I found a quote of him talking about Shaggy. He said, “Look, if you think about sex as much as I do, it can get tough out there in a golf tournament. You got good-looking women all over the place. Some of them take off their underpants, sit in the greens, and lash you when you come up to putt. Women are always coming up to you in the parking lot and asking you to sign their boobs. Well, I also remember on that pod, we weren’t sure what he meant by lash you, but it’s actually obvious to me that he means they’re whipping you. Whipping whipping him. Yeah. With, you know, bless John. Can’t be nice. No. No. Bearing the scars of the of the knickers, whipping him over a 20 year golf care. One of his wives attacked him with a steak knife as well. Yeah, he’s he cops a few blows. Um, and actually after that PGA win in 91, he had a a rough four years. He went to hospital with alcohol poisoning like four or five times. I mean, he had a serious problem. Um, and he arrived at the 1995 Open, $3 million in debt to casinos, so he needed cash. And this is a stage where people wouldn’t really sponsor him, right? Not the big boys. Uh, and then he only goes and wins it again. So, he’s now a two-time major winner and he’s won the Open at the Home of Golf, St. Andrews. I mean, what I love is that every time they have the Open at St. Andrews, they have to do like a legends thing and you’ve obviously got, you know, Jack Nicholas and uh, you know, and Tiger Woods and then you’ve got like boring people like Zack Johnson and whatever. And then JD rocks up and it’s brilliant. you it’s better to be like this kind of prestigious past champions thing and John Daly’s there puffing away like and you know what I would say that out of everybody there Tiger loves it like you can tell he really really has this weird admiration for John Dailyaly and and I think that’s brilliant but it’s good you can see all these sort of tooughs at St. Andrews with the little, you know, crevats on all peering out of the royal and ancient clubhouse watching John Daly in his multicolored trousers ripping a few darts on the first team. So is he he’s guaranteed invite basically former winner. Former winner at St. Andrew. It’s a shame he never won the Masters. So he could do that there. Champions Dinner would be great, wouldn’t it? Which on daily? Although I do love that he always just set up in Hooters’s car park, didn’t he? Yeah. Yeah, he was there again this year. Really? Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. Just selling his wares. Yeah, if you want to go meet the guy, he just stood there and he’s, you know, he’s chip, he does some chipping and putting and, you know, you know, hits the driver off the beer can over the highway and all that. Yeah, he’s great. He said when he won that 95 Open, he turned down a phone call from President Bill Clinton. Yeah. Because he wanted to go and eat dinner. Yeah. I’m not sure that he and Clinton were He did say, “Besides, I didn’t vote for him either.” Yeah, exactly. He’s he’s quite matey with Trump, isn’t he? Um he he’s he’s as we mentioned Hooters and he have a serious relationship. He saw the face of Hooters for a long time. Yeah, that’s right. Uh somewhat literally actually because one night he’s in a Hooters in North Carolina when he got so hammered they had to call an ambulance. Ambulance came. He then refused to get in it um or leave the restaurant at which point Hooters despite you know John being their like beloved sort of son. Uh they called the police who arrested him and uh and he had to pose for a mug shot in an orange jumpsuit and that branch of Hooters hung it on the wall. It’s a classic. It’s a classic photo that isn’t it? Look at that. John Dailyaly public intoxication to passing out in front of a Hooters. It’s a great pick. I I think Hooters has folded hasn’t it? Um, I’m not sure. There was one in Notting, wasn’t there? Yeah, I think I think the English franchises might have survived. I’m not sure. Oh, really? But I think the Because there’s one in Liverpool now, I think. Weirdly, people often write in about about this topic. So, let us know. I have a feeling the one in the one with the mug shot might have that might have gone. Yeah, I know that the where he had parked his motor home up outside Augusta on the Washington Road, that was that’s outside of Hooters, that was definitely there as recently as April. So, Oh, nice. Okay. Still going. Yeah. So, he’s still getting his, you know, his fix barefoot teeing off. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I recommend that episode highly. It’s like a real sort of romantic journey. Brilliant. And there’s also an excellent excellent exchange between he and President Trump on there as well, isn’t there? Well, where Trump’s just talking about bombing Moscow. Yeah. To to John Daly and John Daly has got his phone on loudspeaker eating fries. Brilliant. So good. Lot of Trump in this episode. There is. Um, right. Well, I think that brings us to the end, Greggy. Well, it’s such a shame. Such a shame. But that was great fun. Really good fun. Great couple of episodes. Who’s Who’s your favorite? I was trying to think of a rider copy where I guess we could pick like a pair. I mean, the the best one is obviously John Dailyaly, you know, for for kind of the fact that he’s just ridden this storm for 30 odd years now and people just love him for it. M um I’ve got to say I’ve got to say the Arnold Palmer uh you know the pre the presidential kind of re review if you like the medal of honor doesn’t get better than that. Brilliant. No, it does kill me. Accolades don’t come better. Shove your nighthood, Nick Faldo. Yeah, exactly. Um I there are there is so much more that um that I could go on about here. Um, and you would I mean you’d have to seek all kinds of legal advice. Um, there’s one guy that I will give you, a guy called Alejandro Tosti, who is actually a current player and probably about as close as you’ll get to, not so much for the shagging and and and the drugs and all that kind of side of things, but just pure [ __ ] nutcaseery. This is the man. Alejandro Tosti, current PJ tour player from Argentina. and when he was on the I mean look the guy’s had a he had a really tough upbringing um in you know these terrible kind of you know mountainous areas where there’s not much infrastructure in Argentina and um he was he learned to play golf with a you know a can that was strapped to a stick hitting a pebble and all that kind of stuff great story loads of natural ability but clearly he’s never quite uh worked out a mind coach there’s loads of stories about him online I’ll tell you that when he got his PJ tour card he had to go through a tournament to to qualify for it. Usually what they do is they give everybody sort of these fake PJ tour cards, you know, laminated and they hold them up and pose for a photo. This guy ran over to where there was some champagne provided by the sponsors just out of shot of the camera, opened one next the entire bottle, threw it into the lake that was by the 18th and then jumped in after it himself. And he then he played in the players championship which is one of the big tournaments the biggest outside the majors this year. His first time playing in that and in the practice round he got a hole in one right so not even in the real thing but he got hole in one on the 17th hole in the practice round. Loads of people going mental. Everybody all golf fans know what a [ __ ] lunatic this guy is. Um and he jumped into the lake in front of the 17th at Sorrass to celebrate it. quickly hauled out by his caddy because there are alligators in there. But like this guy, there are so many stories about this [ __ ] guy. And like I love him. Like he got po he got told that he was playing too slowly so he started walking along with his head dipped like a child would if they’ just been told off, dragging his club behind his back. This guy is great. So if we’re doing an episode in 10 years time, we might well be talking about Alejandro Tosti. All I would say is though is that he just needs to up his game on the shag in front. I’m sure he will. Oh, remember the name. All right. Well, Greg, that was what a way to finish. Fantastic one to watch. Uh, mate, thanks so much. I’ve loved that. Always a pleasure, mate. Yeah. Well, maybe maybe sometime we’ll do a Patreon on the really can’t can’t talk about rumors, you know. Let’s do that. The more the more intimate confines we can talk about the really salacious stuff about some other names. Uh, mate, always a pleasure to have you on. Thanks so much for having me, mate. If you haven’t listened to Greggy on our John Dailyaly and Neil Waro episodes, highly recommend it. I forgot about the Waro one. Yeah, different different vibes slightly. Very different vibe. Very different, but excellent. Uh thanks so much for listening to this two-parter. Do share it with your your golf loving friends and uh we’ll see you next time. Thanks a lot.