Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 27, 1993 TAG: 9301270018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. LENGTH: Medium
SOBER DALY RETURNS
John Daly, looking fit and trim after 3 1/2 weeks in an alcohol rehabilitation clinic, returned to the public eye Tuesday and said he was committed to lifelong abstinence from alcohol.Daly, 26, entered the treatment center shortly after Christmas after he allegedly assaulted his wife, Bettye, at their home in Colorado. Charges were later dropped.
Speaking to reporters two days before the start of the Phoenix Open, Daly said he planned to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every week.
He credited a talk with Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, a former member of the Dallas Cowboys who battled drug abuse, with being the catalyst for his rehabilitation.
"It was one hell of a speech. I got more out of his speech than I think I did out of the whole program," Daly said, adding that Henderson's book, "Out of Control," was the first he'd opened since he was a junior in high school.
Henderson taught him a slogan - "I don't drink while I'm sober" - that has become part of his day-to-day socializing, said Daly, who appeared without the blond moustache he sported last season.
The 5-foot-11 golfer, the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, appeared to have lost a good deal of weight while under supervision.
Daly said he had played only two rounds of golf since entering the facility, which reportedly was in Tucson.
The 1991 PGA Championship and 1992 B.C. Open winner missed the first three tournaments this season and needed the approval of PGA commissioner Deane Beaman to return after treatment.
In a statement issued when Daly entered the clinic, he said he was doing it to provide a better family atmosphere.
Daly caused controversy in 1991 when he damaged a hotel room during a tournament in South Africa. His courtship of Bettye, 40, was news during much of 1992. They were married in May and had a daughter in June. Later that month, an allegedly intoxicated Daly was removed from an airplane in Denver.
Tuesday, Daly won the the Phoenix Open's long drive contest with a 315-yard clout. His first drive in the two-ball event was 311 yards.
"I'm hitting the driver real well," he said. "My long irons aren't where I'd like them to be, and of course you always lose your putting stroke after being off so long."
Daly, who began playing golf at the age of 4, said he couldn't remember a longer period when he hadn't held a golf club. He said he began to miss the game after a week but had decided not to play for at least three weeks. He came to the Phoenix area last Wednesday and has been playing since.
Keywords:
GOLF