Playing for the sixth consecutive week on a journey that has taken him to five countries, John Daly felt as though he had hit a new low on Friday with his worst score in a regular PGA Tour event that left him wondering whether he should quit.
His swing coach, Rick Smith, described Daly as being in a "toxic state" after an 88 in the Buick Open, which Smith attributed to a massive weight loss, not enough sleep and the wrong diet. Whatever the case, it led to Daly feeling as bad as he ever has about his golf.
"The last two weeks have been the first time in my career I didn't think I could win," Daly said.
"I don't have the feel I used to have. I don't have the confidence. I just don't have it. It is a weird feeling."
Daly hit two balls out of bounds on the par-five first hole - his 10th of the second round - and took a 10. He wound up shooting 51 on his back nine for a 16-over 88.
That was one shot less than the 89 he had last year at Royal Birkdale in the windswept British Open. Smith said he almost didn't recognise him. "I saw a guy I didn't know existed," Smith said.
"What I saw today was scary. It was a literal disconnect. He hasn't eaten or slept in a week. His body needs food, and it's going to the muscle, and the muscle is breaking down to the point he's in a toxic state."
Daly said he has lost more than five and half stones in the last four months after having Lap-Band surgery, in which a tube place around the top of the stomach helps control the appetite. He was eating 1,200 calories a day, but now says his intake is about 600 calories daily. Daly said he weighed himself this week at 14st 6lb.
"He's gone through it so quickly, faster than most," Smith said. "He hasn't felt well, he hasn't slept. He's starving himself. His doctors says if he doesn't have 80 to 90 grams a day of protein, he'll be in trouble.
"He needs to eat the right food and get himself back so he can even play golf.
"Looking at his swing today, it was irrelevant."
The PGA Tour suspended Daly for six months in November for various off-course incidents. He has played mostly in Europe as he tries to qualify for the "Race to Dubai," but after a runner-up finish in May at the Italian Open, Daly has made little progress.
His trips took him from the BMW International in Germany to the French Open, to the Scottish Open and British Open, then to the Canadian Open and the Buick Open. The two-time major champion tied for 27th at the British Open and played the next two weeks on sponsor exemptions.
Daly said he doesn't want to take a spot from someone else in the field if he continues like this.
"I can't control my hands like I used to. I have no clue where it's going. I just don't have any feel, and it scares me. This is the most down I've ever been with my golf game. I'm doing everything I need to be doing, and nothing is going right on the golf course."
* AP
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
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