Decorate your walls with John Daly

Is your living room missing something? Feels a bit spare, needs some more decoration? Just in time for the holidays, you can now decorate your walls with John Daly.

Seriously. John Daly.

Fathead Wall Graphics has just introduced a golf line of over-sized wall decals, starting with a more-than-life-sized image of John Daly in his Loudmouth pants. Now you can watch golf tournaments on Sunday afternoons side-by-side with one of the game's most popular players.

The John Daly decal is 2 feet 7 inches wide and 6 feet 2 inches tall. (Daly's width has been fluctuating lately, but he is only 5-foot-10.) It's available on fathead.com for $99.99 and includes nine extra Daly-related smaller posters. Keep in mind, the company claims that you can remove and reuse the posters, which are "safe for walls." So fear not -- if you move in with your significant other, Long John can come, too.

"Try to find a John Daly poster this big and bold - no way. Ordinary golf posters simply don't measure up to Fathead," Fathead brags.

I'm not going to say I tried that hard to find a bigger, bolder John Daly wall poster, but I think they're right. Personally, though, I'm holding out for the Adam Scott version.

More on Daly: Special Section | Career in Photos

Without a sponsor or Tiger, St. Jude Championship just became huge

The St. Jude Championship took a big hit when it lost it's title sponsor, Stanford Financial, earlier this year because of an alleged fraud scandal, but the buzz is back due to the return of two of golf's most popular players — John Daly and Phil Mickelson.

Daly is coming back to play in the United States for the first time since his six-month suspension from the PGA Tour was lifted. He's had a successful European Tour swing, which included a runner-up finish at the Italian Open and two other made cuts.

Daly wants to show people he's got his life on track, and that after several seasons of being the PGA Tour's sideshow, he can compete. What he's looking to avoid is controversy. Remember, it was the PGA Tour event in Memphis in 2007 when he showed up with scratch marks on his face after his then-wife allegedly attacked him with a knife.

Phil Mickelson is coming to the St. Jude Championship after leaving the PGA Tour to be with his wife, Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-May.

Mickelson has been one of the most beloved golfers on Tour for years, and Saturday's "Pink Out" at Colonial showed just how much his wife Amy was on the minds of both players and fans in Ft. Worth.

Although the tournament lacks a title sponsor and won't have Tiger Woods in the field, the St. Jude Championship has just become one of the marquee events of the season.

Follow David Dusek on Twitter.

This Week in Tour Twitter: John Daly, Morgan Pressel and Christina Kim

It was a landmark week for golfers on Twitter, with roughly 15 LPGA players I've never heard of joining. (To their credit, I just became 15 percent more likely to watch the Michelob Ultra Open this week.)  Here's your weekly dose of the best you missed by denying the tweeting craze.

- Love3D is actually Davis Love III, and not a fake. I know this because he likes to take glamor shots while pulled over at gas stations.

- The LPGA's Christina Kim is on Twitter!! And she's a vodka drinker!! I prefer Ciroc personally, with Goose as a runner-up. Belvedere and Chopin is a bit biting for my gentle female palate! Lol!!! She also has a penchant for classical music (...and exclamation points): Now I've moved on to Mozart. My heart races and my hand trembles with excitement as the symphony reaches its crescendo!!!

- Morgan Pressel loves the Red Wings. And Auntie Anne's cinnamon sticks. And even though she's sponsored by Ralph Lauren, she still pays for some of their clothes, just like the rest of us: Just did some damage at the ralph Lauren factory store...shocker

- Stewart Cink, who has 158,716 followers (No. 150,000 won a free driver), was thinking about more than this week's tournament during his practice round at TPC Sawgrass: Fun practice round with Zach, FreddyC, Rollins, and DL3. Kissed butt to Freddy (Prez Cup cptn) but quit after 12. He keeps us in stitches.

- Natalie Gulbis supports the Special Olympics.

- Connecticut's finest, J.J. Henry, checked in from the Players Championship on Wednesday: Caddie closest to pin contest on the famous 17th hole...If you think we get nervous you should see the caddies try and take it back!! 

- Jane Park shows admirable humility: haha i dont think anyone really cares what im doing? lol. The Press Tent cares, Jane.

And the Top Tour Twit This Week: John Daly. I attempted to count the most tweets Daly had sent in an hour, but I ran out of fingers and toes; the man is obsessed. This week he tweeted about his crazy clothing choices at the Spanish Open and his decision to have lap-band surgery (ya, just tried alot of diets and found out it was in my genes), and how it's affected his game (just workin on adjustment because i was so used to goin around my stomach for so long) Then there was this gem: Kermit's last words: That pig told me she was clean. LMAO funny stuff

UPDATE: Stewart Cink might have stolen the show with a tweet late Thursday afternoon: Reliable source says Jason Dufner left important part of wardrobe behind today and is going commando. Remarkable considering 90deg heat.

John Daly brings 'style' back in his return to golf

Not that John Daly needs any help attracting attention on the course, but he's certainly making his presence known this week in Spain -- by giving Ian Poulter a run for his money when it comes to fashion-forward ensembles.

Daly will be wearing several styles from LoudMouth Golf's line of over-the-top pants while he plays at the Open de Espana. Wednesday he sported an orange-pink pair (right), called "Raspberry SureBet," (why, yes, they were) which showed off his newly-slimmed down figure. Thursday he opted for a more subdued black and tan style (left).

"We're not your ordinary golf pants," said Loudmouth Golf CEO Larry Jackson in a press release. "But then, who wants to be ordinary, certainly not LoudMouth." And certainly not Daly.

We can only hope that tomorrow he's planning to wear the "Disco Balls" or, better yet, the "Aloha Girls" style. 

Want to tell Daly what you think of his pants? He's been twittering about them. (And if you want them for yourself, you can purchase them through Daly's site and part of the money will go to his charity.)

(Photos: Warren Little/Getty Images)

John Daly performs with Hootie and the Blowfish at charity event in Augusta

A 40-pounds-lighter John Daly made a surprise appearance at the Drive for Show, Rock for Dough charity event in Augusta, Ga., on Thursday night. He got on stage to perform "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with Hootie and the Blowfish. The video is below, and while the quality isn't that great, if you fast forward to the 3-minute mark you can hear a few lines he ad libbed about his recent golf performance. (I haven't made a cut in weeks/and my career, it looks so bleak)

Daly hawking gear outside Augusta National

To the deep trove of Masters traditions, we can officially add John Daly hawking his wares outside the gates of Augusta National. J.D., who in 2007 spent Masters week selling his Lion clothing line outside the Hooters on Washington Road, is at it again — this time beside a Washington Road jewelry store, just a three-minute walk from the club.

Daly declined to chat this morning as he unloaded boxes of hats and shirts and carefully placed them on a table outside his coach bus. But he looked downright trim by his standards, having shed some 40 pounds in recent months.

“J.D., looking good, dog!” one fan hollered as he strolled by Daly’s bus.

“Love you, man!” cried another.   

Daly is still serving a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour. He recently said he has spent that time working on both his game and his physique, and he is scheduled to play the European Tour’s Spanish Open in three weeks.

Daly has played in 12 Masters. His last appearance was in 2006.

(Robert Beck/SI)

Daly gets off easy for camera smash-up

The picture was scary enough: John Daly caught in mid-windup, getting ready to smash a fan’s camera against a tree as a frightened spectator in front of him braces for a blow. Turns out, that’s only the half of it. Will Swinton of Austrialian newspaper The Sun-Herald followed Daly throughout his fateful round at the Australian Open last week, and he says that anyone watching Daly could have seen this explosion coming.

The picture Swinton paints of a chain-smoking, taciturn Daly playing with disinterest and near contempt of his audience should give pause to any fan willing to forgive Daly’s many flaws because of his outsized personality, not to mention tournament sponsors looking for larger galleries. Swinton's story also makes the PGA of Australia’s silence on the matter dubious at best. Spineless is another word that comes to mind.

He sprayed his drive to the right. His ball hit a grey-haired spectator and bounced under a tree. Oh, the laughter! Daly came through the crowd and the rest is like slow motion -- the brooding giant walked to his ball and went straight past Brad Clegg. Clegg fired off a photo when Daly was a meter from him. Again Daly did not flinch. But then he stopped and turned. He said his first words in hours: "You know what . . " He turned and stormed at Clegg. He ripped the camera out of Clegg's hands and there was a frightening element to it all. All that quiet, then the snap. It looked as if Daly might belt Clegg, who turned white. The former fan was undoubtedly afraid, stumbling backwards. Daly had the camera in his hand. He was shaking. Someone shouted, "Let it go, John!" He let it go all right but not in the manner intended. He turned, lined up a tree and wound up like he was pitching for the Yankees. He hurled the camera and hit the tree bang-on. The camera smashed. Daly got his ball, hit his shot and left. He was still quiet.

Yet Daly does have a defender in playing partner Rober Allenby, who found more fault with the media’s, fans’ and tournament organizers’ actions than anything Daly did. The native Aussie went as far as to threaten to stop playing future Australian Opens.

"A lot of things were wrong this week, not so much with me," Allenby said. "I don't want to get myself into trouble, but I could really let loose. I think it's disgusting how the media have treated John Daly. It's totally disgusting.

"All the guy wants to do is play golf. He understands, and we understand, that people want photographs. It says on the ticket: 'No cameras allowed'. If this guy (Clegg) is going to kick on and on and on about it, that's just horse s---.

"He knows that he shouldn't have it there, so why'd he have it in his face? That's a joke.

"I could have taken 50 cameras myself. That's how close they were. The marshals did nothing. The first day on 16, the marshal's taking a photo from the middle of the fairway, five yards behind Daly. There were more cameras this week than I've ever seen in my life, at a tournament."

Allenby also took tournament organizers to task for the Australian Open’s “Stadium Hole” on the 17th hole, which included a bar for fans. "That's not promoting golf, that's promoting alcoholism," Allenby said.

I’m sure Allenby’s criticisms have merit, but there’s no excuse for Daly forcibly taking a fan’s camera and smashing it. We’re in dangerous territory here and anyone thinking of inviting Daly to any event next year, except maybe a bachelor's party, should read Swinton’s article closely and ask themselves if a larger crowd is worth anyone's safety. Long John may be a folk hero, but he can’t play Batman to enforce tournament camera rules. This incident in Australia was ugly, and it could have been a lot worse.

John Daly Homepage | Photos: The Ups and Downs of John Daly

Fans love Daly for his heart, despite his flaws

Big flaws, bigger heart.

As the Judge Smails types in the game scratch their heads and hold their noses at John Daly’s enduring popularity, most guys at a golf tournament would rather watch John Daly struggle his way to 75 than follow some rail-thin Tour Pro-Bot go 2-under with the passion of an actuary.

Still, even Daly’s biggest fans have to be concerned after his troubling year, which included a feud with Butch Harmon over Daly’s drinking, barely breaking 90 on Friday at the British Open, and a bizarre incident in which Daly passed out near a Hooters restaurant in North Carolina and spent the night in jail. That’s why it’s nice to read Peter Stone’s story in The Sydney Morning Herald about Daly’s generosity and how he helped inspire a 12-year-old boy to become a pro golfer.

Damon Welsford (right, with Daly) was 12 when his father Paul took him and brother Justin to the Australian Masters at Huntingdale in 1995. They followed Daly in the pro-am and, early on, he took a shine to Damon.

On practically every hole, Daly signed a golf ball and handed it to the kid. Then, at the par-five 14th with a water carry off the tee of around 150 meters, Daly handed Damon his driver and said: "Hit it over and I'll give you 50 bucks."

The little fellow did, and Daly signed a $50 note and handed it over. The kid then tagged along behind his new hero for all 72 holes of the tournament.

Welsford is now a 25-year-old pro golfer and will be playing against Daly in this week’s Australian PGA. The two men spoke on the practice green Tuesday; Daly didn’t remember Welsford but jokingly offered to caddy for him when he heard how they met in 1995. Welsford asked Daly how he was doing. The big man’s response: “Well, you know…”

Yup, Daly's always been funny, and he's touched a lot of people. That doesn't excuse all his actions, but make sure you give him some credit and appreciation for his good qualities too. That kid who Daly signed golf balls for in 1995 sure does.

"Yes, John did inspire me. I was an 18 to 20 marker at the time. It was pretty cool what happened that day," Welsford said.

"He must have done a lot of things like that around the world. I'll always remember it."

(Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

John Daly working with Rick Smith

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- With only four made cuts in 17 starts on the PGA and European tours in 2008, and a highly publicized he said/he said with coach Butch Harmon, John Daly needed a fresh start.

The oft-troubled two-time major champion got one when he called Northern Michigan's Rick Smith, the former coach of Phil Mickelson.

"We started working together Sunday out at Oakland University," Smith said while following Daly in the second round of the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills on Friday.

The practice session lasted seven hours, according the Greg Johnson of The Grand Rapids Press, who also had this quote from Daly: "I haven't been able to feel like I've finished a swing for months now, and Rick has me feeling it again."

On Friday, after trying to drive the green on the 300-yard, par-4 sixth hole, and ending up short and left, Daly chipped to six feet above the hole. He missed the birdie putt and the crowd groaned.

"Oh, he needed to make that," Smith said. Daly was at eight over par. The cut looked like it was going to be seven over.

Then came the killing stroke. On his 16th hole, the 449-yard, par-4 seventh, Daly pulled out a hybrid club instead of his trusty driver. It was one of his few conservative plays all day, but he still lost his tee shot right.

Smith: "Did that go in the lake?"

It did.

Daly made bogey to fall to nine over par, then bogeyed the next hole to drop to +10. It was slipping away.

Still, Daly-watchers could see a change. Smith has been trying to get him to fire his right side through the ball, and while Long John hit just two of 14 fairways Friday (compared to seven of 14 Thursday), he didn't miss by much. A handful of drives rolled just inches into the rough Friday, which spells doom at Oakland Hills. Other tee shots, such as his drive off the 435-yard first hole, were dead solid perfect.

Smith is also trying to change Daly's ball position with both the driver (he was teeing it too high and had it too far forward in his stance) and his putter (his eyes weren't far enough over the ball).

Daly shot 80-89 at the British Open last month, and he hasn't made a cut on the PGA Tour since the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico in late February. He tried submitting to the tutelage of the no-nonsense Harmon earlier this year, but the two had a falling out over Daly's off-course habits and feuded in the media about whether or not those habits constituted alcoholism.

So the prodigiously talented golfer with the prodigious appetites called Smith, who coached world No. 2 Mickelson while the lefthander was winning three majors, among several other tournaments. Whether or not Daly will last under Smith any longer than he did under Harmon remains to be seen, but he refused to give up Friday -- a good sign for a player who has tanked in the past. Daly stiffed his approach shot to the 219-yard ninth hole, his last of the day, and made the short putt for birdie. He finished nine over, probably a stroke or two south of the cut line but better than playing partner Vijay Singh (76-76, 12 over).

Daly signed a few hats and programs, then walked past a clot of waiting reporters.

"C'mon, Rick, let's go eat," he said. He walked to the door of the player dining room, took off his sunglasses and gazed back at the course. He'd shot 74-75, and hit a lot of good shots. He'd likely missed another cut.

(Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
   

Open cut relief for some, cruel for others

SOUTHPORT, England — Friday is the cruelest day in major championship golf. Tonight half the field earned a passport to the weekend and a shot at winning the British Open. Everyone else will be handing over their passport as they check in for the flight home.

The low 70 players and ties will play the weekend at Royal Birkdale. That puts 83 players inside the cut line at 9-over-par.

Among those breathing a sigh of relief is Ernie Els, who made bogey on his last hole earlier today to fall to 9-over. The easy-going South African slammed his putter angrily into his bag as he walked off the green, then slammed the door of the scorer's hut after signing for a round of 69. Also surviving at that 9-over mark are Davis Love III and England's hope, Lee Westwood.

Phil Mickelson secured his place for the weekend with a second-round 69 that left him at 7-over. Masters champion Trevor Immelman and Colin Montgomerie are also assured to a weekend tee time at 8-over.

For others there will be no reprieve. Stewart Cink and Tom Watson (both 10-over) are finished. Joining them on the boulevard of missed birdie putts are Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy,  Mark O'Meara and Charles Howell III, all at 11-over. Former U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera and Rory Sabbatini missed by a mile at 14-over.

Also missing the weekend action is former champion Paul Lawrie, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Aaron Baddeley, and a handful of young American prospects: Brandt Snedeker, Hunter Mahan, and J.B. Holmes.

In a category all of his own, dead last in the field, is John Daly. The former champion-turned-train wreck finished 29-over par after rounds of 80-89. He didn't make a single birdie all week. And there isn't even a Hooters in Birkdale for him to spend the weekend in.