John Daly is one of the most enigmatic characters to have ever graced the professional game, and his win at the 1991 PGA Championship made him a star overnight.
It was 34 years ago when Daly announced himself to the world with his incredible PGA Championship win at Crooked Stick in the state of Indiana.
Daly remarkably won The Open Championship at St Andrews just four years later in 1995.
The now 59-year-old is one of the most popular players on the professional circuit, among both fans and his fellow pros.
However, he has endured plenty of turmoil throughout his personal life, but thankfully, he seems to be in a very good place now.
His incredible talent and breathtaking length off the tee made him an instant fan favourite.
Now let’s take a look back at Daly’s brilliant win at Crooked Stick back in 1991.
John Daly was handed a last-minute entry into the 1991 PGA Championship
When the week began at Crooked Stick, Daly was not even in the field.
He was the 9th alternate for the event and didn’t get the call to play until the day before the tournament began.
Daly had to drive throughout the night in order to get to Carmel, Indiana, to make his tee time on Thursday.
The ‘Wing Thing’ played exceptional golf throughout the week and ended up winning the tournament.
Daly finished up at 12-under-par, and won by three shots from second-placed Bruce Lietzke.
He was always an incredibly naturally-gifted player, but it’s still hard to believe that he won that week without any preparation.
Nick Price offered his caddie to John Daly for the 1991 PGA Championship
It was Nick Price’s withdrawal due to his wife going into labour which enabled Daly to even get a place in the field at Crooked Stick to begin with.
Daly spoke to Golf Digest back in 2021, and shared the story of how Price’s then caddie – Jeff ‘Squeaky’ Medlin – ended up on his bag in Indiana.
He said: “We were in Memphis, and I had just bought a house in Germantown, Tenn., with my first wife, Bettye. We weren’t married yet. I had just taken out a loan for a BMW. I had made $162,000 on the PGA Tour in 1991 and had secured my card for 1992. Life was good, and I was really happy. Then Nick Price called to tell me his wife, Sue, was ready to have their baby and that he was withdrawing and that I might get to play at Crooked Stick. Nick offered to have his caddie, Squeaky—that’s Jeff Medlin, who passed away in 1997—caddie for me. I was like, “Oh, man, yeah.” We drove 10 hours to Indiana on Wednesday and got in at 1 a.m. on Thursday. The light on my hotel phone was blinking, and I got the news. I had made it into the field.“
What an incredible turn of events that was for Daly.
And the two-time major champion really has Price and his wife to thank for the success he has enjoyed throughout his career.