John Daly, known for his audacious lifestyle both on and off the golf course, had a particularly memorable day at Minnehaha Country Club this Friday.
The two-time major champion scored an unprecedented 19 on the par-5 12th hole during the first round of the Sanford International, instantly making PGA Tour Champions history. Daly, who was already struggling with his swing, was playing alongside other golf legends like Angel Cabrera and Robert Karlsson when he approached the 501-yard hole.
What ensued could be likened more to a comic strip than a professional golf round. Daly lost multiple balls, repeatedly dropped shots, and accumulated penalties like they were poker chips.
By the time he finally sunk his last putt, the official scorer marked a 19, dubbing it “the highest single-hole score ever recorded on the senior tour.”
Daly ended the day with an 88 (+18), placing him at the very bottom of the leaderboard at +14 after 18 holes. In stark contrast, Cabrera carded a six-under round.
Despite the disastrous hole, Daly didn’t lose his stride.
He managed to make par on both the 13th and 14th holes, then rallied with a birdie on the 15th. He steadied himself with two more pars before finishing with a bogey on the 18th.
On the same day of the tournament, Daly took to Instagram to promote Good Boy Vodka. His post, which showed the beverage being produced, was captioned with a hopeful “looking like a good weekend.”
During the opening nine holes, he recorded four bogeys, sparking a social media frenzy.
One supporter commented, “I would’ve run out of balls.”
Another defended Big John by joking they once played alongside someone who shot a +27 on a par 3, claiming that player was an unnamed professional golfer who was “always grinding.”
Some detractors were more brutal, with one declaring, “They need to cancel his membership. He’s nothing but a joke now,” while another suggested Daly was “just trolling at this point.”
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According to his PGA Tour Champions profile, this marked Daly’s sole recorded event for 2025.
He competed in three tournaments during the previous season, including one notorious round at Timuquana Country Club where he carded a six-stroke bogey on the eighth hole.
Daly’s single Champions Tour victory dates back to 2017 at the Insperity Invitational, a distant memory from his glory days capturing The Open Championship at St Andrews in 1995 or his shocking 1991 PGA Championship triumph.
Throughout a career spanning three decades, Daly has accumulated over $10 million in PGA Tour prize money, five PGA Tour victories, and four international championships. His record includes 23 top-5 placements and 35 top-10 results.
Although Daly’s prime PGA Tour years are long past, his son John Daly II continues the family tradition and upholds his father’s sporting heritage.
