US golfer John Daly stripped the first drive of the PGA championship on Thursday – logging a +2 round in an eighteen fueled by cigarettes, Diet Coke and M&M’s, with a trip to Hooters to celebrate afterwards.
The 56-year-old cult hero teed off at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and while he finished the round tied 56th, it was his on-course diet and visit to Hooters and a casino following the game that wowed fans.
The two-time major champion, who is fighting what he says is benign bladder cancer, smoked 21 cigarettes, drank 12 Diet Cokes and ate six packs of peanut M&Ms during the game.
His diet garnered much attention given that, unlike his fellow competitors, Daly was driving throughout the course with a smile on his face as the PGA allows him to use a cart under the American with Disabilities Act for his osteoarthritis.
The attention on him persisted as he then took a trip to Hooters, one of his sponsors, to enjoy some wings before ending the night with beers and slot machines at a Tulsa casino.
John Daly swings with iron in hand at the first round of the 2022 PGA championship. Although he finished tied 56th at +2, the golfer gained fans due to his on-course diet
The 56-year-old, who is fighting bladder cancer, smoked 21 cigarettes, drank 12 diet cokes and ate six packs of peanut M&Ms during Thursday’s game
After the round, Daly stopped by the Tulsa Hooters as part of his sponsorship
He ended the day with a night at the slot machines. Despite admitting to losing more than $55 million in 2014 due to gambling, the golfer appeared to be enjoying himself
CBS sports reporter Will Brinson tweeted his hawkeye findings of Daly’s diet, taking ‘meticulous notes every time he reached for his golf bag, took a bite or a sip or a puff’.
‘The final tally of literally everything he put into his body over a full 18 holes: 21 cigs, 12 Diet Cokes, 6 packs of Peanut M&M’s, 0.0 ounces of water,’ Brinson tweeted.
John Daly hates water but loves Diet Coke
Rejecting water in favor of soda is nothing new for Daly, who’s been drinking Diet Coke during tournaments since 1999.
His love for the drink became well-known in 2007 when he was seen with more than a dozen bottles of Diet Coke throughout that year’s PGA Championship.
Tiger Woods told ESPN that in the blazing heat of that year’s tournament, Daly commented to the sports icon that he had drunk 13 Diet Cokes in a single day and zero bottles of water.
Daly told sports journalist Graham Bensinger in an interview in 2016 that he just hates drinking water and loves the taste of coke better, especially from McDonald’s
‘I used to drink anywhere from 12 to 20 diet cokes a day,’ Daly told Bensinger. ‘I used to go to McDonald’s three to four times a day. To me, they always had the best fountain diet coke.
‘You know I don’t drink water. I hate water. I cannot stand drinking water.’
‘I used to be able to eat two Big Macs, two or three cheeseburgers, chocolate shake, regular Coke back then before I started drinking Diet Cokes in a sitting pretty easily,’ Daly added.
Daly is pictured with a Diet COke in hand during practice for the 1999 US Open
Twenty years with Hooters, and it’s a family deal now
After Thursday’s round in 2022 PGA Championship, Daly went to the local Hooters for a sponsor commitment, commenting on Instagram: ‘Happy to stop by and see my Tulsa @hooters family and grab me some wings on the fly!’
Daly has worked with Hooters for more than two decades, often appearing at the Masters in a Hooters bus to mingle with fans, and the golfer signed a new sponsorship agreement with the American-based restaurant chain last month, a deal that was also extended to his son, John Daly II.
‘It’s a great deal for me and my son, because he loves the Hooters food … so do I,’ Daly told reporters last month ahead of the Club Corp Classic, in Texas.
‘I’ve kind of been with Hooters since 2001. Some years I’ve been under contract, a lot of years I wasn’t. But Bruce [Skala, Hooters’ marketing executive] said, ‘We want to sign you and your son. And you’d be really, truly part of the Hooters family like you are.”
In a press release following the April contract signing. Skala said, ”John’s larger-than-life personality makes him an ideal representative of Hooters’ fun-loving spirit, while Little John will promote our brand to the next generation as one of the next big names in golf.’
Daly (right) is pictured with his son (left) and Hooters employees after the father and son signed a contract with the chain
John Daly gambled away $55 million, but that hasn’t stopped him for testing his luck
After the stop at Hooters, Daly was then spotted trying his luck at a slot machine at a Tulsa casino.
The golfer has previously battled with a gambling addiction that he admitted cost him more than $55 million by 2014.
One of the worst years came after he lost to Tiger Woods in 2005’s PGA Tour in three sudden-death playoff holes, where the frustrated Daly went straight to Vegas to play at a $5,000-per play slot machine.
In the first hour, Daly recalled losing $600,000, but he believed he could get it back with the remainder of his $750,000 second-place winnings at the American Express. By the fifth hour, he was out $1.65 million.
‘And here’s how my sick mind analyzed the situation: My sponsorship payments would be coming through in January, so I’d be able to pay everything off and get back to even by the beginning of the new year,’ Daly had reasoned. ‘Everything’s fine. Everything’s OK. No problema. Hell, yes, there’s a problema.’
But even if he wins at the machines, the money isn’t always guaranteed to stay in Daly’s pockets as the golpher once confessed to ESPN in 2016 that he threw $65,000 of his gambling winnings off a bridge when he was arguing with his fourth ex-wife, Sherrie, about his addiction.
Although he appears to be half the thousand dollar slot machines, Daly has said that he still enjoys playing $25 slot machines, and that’s just what he did on Thursday night following the PGA Championship round.
Unfortunately, much like the 2005 incident, the machines at the Tulsa casino didn’t pay out.
‘The slots weren’t hitting,’ Daly told TMZ Sports.
Daly led at the start of the 2022 PRGA Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday
Daly has gained a cult following given his talents on the course and his easy-going lifestyle
Daly also raised attention with his pants, which featured dozens of color skeletons
Daly appeared content as he drove throughout the course in Tulsa as the PGA granted him a cart due to his osteoarthritis
The national icon, who is notorious for his beer drinking tales and late to tee time drama, has had a below par start to the PGA season, but it hasn’t stopped fans from praising his Thursday escapades.
A Twitter user with the handle Crackling Aces wrote: ‘Straight from the golf course to the casino with cigs, Diet Coke , and a wad of cash. Nobody better than John Daly.
Emerson Lotzia, Jr., another Twitter user, echoed the praise, tweeting: ‘John Daly rolling up the fairway in cart No. 69, chugging diet coke while rippin’ darts and stealing hearts around Southern Hills is poetry in motion.’
Another Twitter user with the handle Big Champ Man simply wrote: ‘In all honesty, John Daly might be my favorite professional athlete ever.’
Pickwise, the sports betting site, also showed love for Daly, tweeting, ‘Name an athlete you’d want to spend a weekend in Vegas with We’ll start: John Daly.’
Although he’s failed to make the PGA cut since 2012, Daly continues to play despite his health complications
Playing on the PGA Champions tour last week, Daly was disqualified at the Regions Tradition tournament for forgetting to sign his scorecard – an instant forfeiture in professional golf.
While Daly doesn’t parade the standard tour physique, he can afford the luxuries of cigarettes and chocolate, as he was approved to drive a cart around tour back in 2019 due to osteoarthritis in his right knee.
Known for his long tee shots, Daly has failed to make a PGA cut since 2012.
Things were looking good for Daly at 6:56am in the first grouping of the major tournament on Thursday, momentarily leading the pack after two birdies in his first five holes.
After 10 holes, Daly sat at -3, winding back the clock to his 1991 PGA championship win.
Daly exhales smoke from a cigarette at the 2010 Australian Open, played at the Lakes Golf Club in Sydney
Daly pictured with former world number one, Tiger Woods, at the 2005 Battle of the Bridges in California
His first three drives of the day all surpassed three-hundred yards, where he would walk back to his cart with a large McDonald’s soft drink in the cup holder and take off up the fairway – with his caddy having to follow behind on foot.
Daly’s career has been filled with victories to go with his crazy stories.
In 2004, Daly beat the then world number two, Tiger Woods, at the Target World Challenge after sinking three bottles of Crown Royal Whiskey the night before.
Daly tees off on Friday at 1.25pm American time for round two of the PGA championship.
