When it’s Major week on the golf calendar, everyone wants to see John Daly – and he sure is hard to miss.
This week, the cult hero arrived at The Open – held at Royal Liverpool in northern England – in an embellished star-and-stripe top with Donald Trump’s name woven on the sleeve. Daly is a proud American, but the British tournament holds a special place in his heart after he won it in 1995.
His bright, whimsical attire is one of the reasons he’s loved in golf, but it’s far from the only thing that makes him so famous.
Fans on both sides of the pond are fascinated with Daly because they want to see what he wears, how much he smokes and what he eats on his round.
That’s the fascination CBS sports reporter Will Brinson once has tweeted his hawkeye findings of Daly’s diet, during the 2008 Wyndham Championship, he “took careful notes every time he reached for his golf bag, took a bite or a sip, or took a puff.”
“The grand total of literally everything he put in his body over a full 18 holes: 21 cigarettes, 12 Diet Cokes, 6 packs of Peanut M&Ms, 0.0 ounces of water,” Brinson tweeted.
John Daly was seen warming up for The Open on Wednesday afternoon
A cigarette is never far from his hand on the golf course – neither is a soft drink, as seen during the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in 2022
Daly has always spoken openly about his love of Diet Coke and how much he drinks every day
Daly pictured during his first round of The Open at Royal Liverpool on Thursday
Daly is very open about his diet and probably wouldn’t dismiss Brinson’s findings.
“Rich Beam calls me ‘camel’ because I never drink water. I drink Diet Coke, I like ice cream, which to me is water, so I get a lot of water in my Diet Coke,” Daly said in a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger — wearing a stars-and-stripes blazer.
‘I don’t drink water. I hate water. I can’t drink water. I drank 12-20 Diet Cokes a day, I went to McDonald’s three or four times a day. They always had the best fountain drink for me.”
The American then revealed to Bensinger that he had recently started puffing whole milk.
‘I drink about five liters of whole milk a week. I like to mix Hershey’s in my vitamin D milk,” he said before being questioned about his love of McDonald’s and Burger King.
Burger King, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, I love it. I used to be able to eat two Big Macs, two or three cheeseburgers, chocolate shake, and regular Coke while sitting pretty comfortably.
My 17th birthday, I was a kicker for the football team. I got 17 tacos and I was still hungry and then got a few burritos.
“I don’t eat much fast food anymore. Burger King has the best burgers, McDonald’s has the best fries. I go to Burger King, get the BK and I take out the meat and eat it. I have a hard time with bread. Sometimes I can eat bread, sometimes I can’t.’
Daly, 57, has made no secret of his incredible diet and how he refuses to drink water
Daly is pictured with a Diet Coke in hand during practice for the 1999 US Open
Daly sponsors Hooters and is known to frequent the bar after a round of golf
During a practice round for The Open on Wednesday, Daly had a Trump decal on his shirt
Daly is friends with Trump and previously played a round with the former president
Bensinger then said that he had heard that Daly is physically ill when he eats vegetables.
“Pretty much, yes,” Daly said. “I don’t eat beans, spinach, broccoli, things like that. When I was young, my father forced me down and I would throw it up.’
Daly also counts Hooters as a sponsor and went there for a night out in 2022 after the opening round of the PGA Championship in Oklahoma. He apparently enjoyed some wings before ending his night on the slot machines at a casino.
In September 2020, Daly was diagnosed with bladder cancer which he later said was benign but required regular visits to his doctor for the next five years.
“The bladder cancer is benign at the moment,” he said Gulf channel in March 2022. ‘I’m going back in May and now I have to do it once every six months instead of three, but I have to do it for another five years.’
“Some days I feel like Superman, some days I feel like Jimmy Hoffa 6 feet under water.”
Daly was also diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his right knee in 2019, which made walking long stretches of the golf course a chore for the 57-year-old – which is why the PGA allows him to use a cart to traverse the fields.
Earlier this year in May, Daly was forced to withdraw from the PGA Senior Championship as he struggled with the ‘down grade’ tee boxes that he says caused his legs to swell.
Daly was once observed smoking a whopping 21 cigarettes during one round in 2008
The love Daly gets is mutual, he always makes time for autographs with his adoring fans
Daly has sometimes used a golf cart to get around the course due to problems with his knees
“It’s so hard playing tee boxes that are downgraded,” Daly tweeted. ‘Golf course is great but I wish they would level their tee boxes!
‘We are not young anymore!! Some guys are ADA and we can’t continue on downhill tee boxes!!
“I’m sorry @PGA you’re going in the wrong direction with golf, but I love you guys.”
Daly’s honesty makes him such a cult hero on the PGA Tour and he always makes time for the thousands of fans to watch him play.
Next week, when he returns to the US, he will have a line of cannabis gummies on the shelves. Daly himself admits that it’s probably as green as he gets.