ITALIAN OPEN:ANYBODY WHO thought John Daly was finished as a golfer will be thinking again after he stormed into a share of second place at the BMW Italian Open in Turin yesterday.
Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik took the title by a runaway six strokes, closing with a joint best-of-the-day 65, but from the depths of 794th in the world and a week after his 43rd birthday Daly lit up the event with more than just his trousers.
This was the former British Open champion’s second event back from a four-month lay-off. In November he was given a six-month US Tour ban after being thrown in jail to sober up and in February he underwent gastric band surgery after his weight ballooned to 20st. Daly has already shed 4st and perhaps he has also matured – there was no talk of him reacting this time in the way he did when he last finished second.
That was the 2005 American Express world championship in San Francisco. After losing a play-off to Tiger Woods he drove to Las Vegas and lost over €895,338 gambling – half of it in just 30 minutes on slot machines.
He had not had a top-10 finish between then and now, yet what Daly spoke about last night was not of wild celebrations, but of a comeback which next week takes him to the 3 Irish Open.
“That should be a blast,” he said after adding a 66 to his three opening rounds of 69.
“I am way ahead of where I thought I’d be and I’m very happy.”
Only a month ago he cut a sad figure selling his own merchandise from a trailer outside Augusta National while The Masters was taking place.
There was speculation then that he was close to bankruptcy and he admitted himself: “Everybody knows I need the money.”
Sharing second place with England’s Robert Rock and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin will certainly help. It earned him more than €96,940.
Vancsik picked up over €216,660 for his second Tour victory and, as with the first, he left the rest trailing in his wake.
The 32-year-old’s European career has been one of real fluctuating fortunes.
His seven-stroke Madeira victory two years ago came on his 50th start – and the previous 49 did not contain a single top-10 finish.
Now this win has come after almost a year without a top-10 finish, with his previous best this season being 42nd in Spain last week.
But at Royal Park, Vancsik made a nonsense of his 420th place on the world rankings, finishing with a 17-under-par total of 267. Only one ahead overnight he birdied four of the first six holes, turned in 32 and then added three more birdies in the next five holes.
“My putting was fantastic,” he said. “I played more aggressively and thought if I got to six or seven under (on the day) the tournament is for me. Now my goal is to get into a major.”
He has yet to make one, losing a qualifying play-off to amateur Gary Wolstenholme for the US Open last year. Daly was still outside the top 10 when he covered the front nine in 35, but he came home in 31 with birdies at the 11th, 14th, 16th and 17th.
Rock, who destroyed his putter in anger after an opening 72, and Jacquelin both closed with 68s to deny Daly outright second, while South African Thomas Aiken was one shot further back in fifth.
Ireland’s Gareth Maybin earned a cheque for €25,805 with his 276 total, Michael McGeady earned €16,510 for his 278, Gary Murphy’s last round 69 helped him to a 281 total and Jonathan Caldwell finished with a 73 for a total of 287.
