I’ve heard worse. Not much else to say about this one really.

Long drive phenom Jamie Sadlowski will tee it up this afternoon at the Albertson’s Boise Open in his first ever Nationwide Tour start.

Sadlowski played in a 9-hole skins match on Monday with John Daly.  While he lost the match to Daly 7 to 2 (shooting even par), he did manage to drive a 359-yard par-4 with a 14* hybrid, which reportedly left Daly “flabbergasted”.

Sadlowski’s stated goal is to try to beat Jason Zuback’s record of 5 Re/Max long drive titles before transitioning into competitive golf.  He’ll have a shot at winning his 3rd title on Nov 4th in Nevada.

Golf.com

[Image golf.com]

John Daly, that’s who. A 3rd round 67 has put him 3 off the lead going into Sunday.

Just when many golf fans were thinking that Daly was done, the 2-time major champion with eye searing clothing comes out and shows that he can still play with the best.  It’s been a long time since we saw John Daly on a weekend leaderboard, and the real trick is whether or not he can perform like this consistently.  But it’s certainly not a bad start.

Check out Daly’s post-round interview after the break.

Playboy recently published an piece on John Daly.  (I probably wouldn’t click on the link at work).  It paints an interesting, if not entirely flattering portrait.  In the article, Daly talks about his relationship with girlfriend, Ana Cladakis (he claims to either be a nympho or close to it), his monthly expenses (a mere $43k down from $120k), and probably most notably, his problems with gambling and other addictions.

Daly has been through some significant highs and lows in his life, most notably due to his gambling.  Fortunately for him, Cladakis seems to have put the kibosh on it, because “[she] hates it”.  Of course it probably helps that he doesn’t have millions of dollars to blow through right now either.

It [gambling] felt better than golf because you’re sitting there and you don’t have to work at it. Gambling is adrenaline. You wanna beat the blackjack, you wanna win the slots. You get the adrenaline rush. I absolutely loved it. Bally’s was my favorite until they built the Wynn. That high-limit room? When I walk in there, I get that chill rush.

I was the first one to win the jackpot of $100,000. I won, like, three or four nights in a row, and I’m going, ‘I could never lose.’ Next thing you know, you lose $500,000

Back when I was playing, you could play seven hands at $5,000 and have $35,000 on the table. Sometimes 10. You could have 70 grand sitting up there. You don’t have that chance on a dollar slot or playing $25 at blackjack. I won $400,000 to $500,000 in blackjack sittings.

Of course Daly’s problems weren’t limited to the casino tables:

His first beer came when he was just eight years old, his first Jack and Coke at 14. Then, after a grape-stomping session turned their feet purple, he and his brother Jamie progressed to drinking the homemade wine their dad was making. “It actually tasted pretty good. It tasted almost like Kool-Aid. That’s why we each drank two jars. Man, were our heads spinning,” he recalls with a laugh.

Daly remains a controversial figure in golf.  There are a number of people who can’t stand him and just want him to go away.  Others (probably a majority) just like the guy, recognize a bit of themselves in his problems, and just want to see him succeed.

When Daly shows up at a tournament, he’s one of the biggest draws outside of marquee players like Tiger and Phil.  For all of his faults, Daly understands the value of fan interaction and virtually never says no to an autograph.

The article is an interesting read and while it isn’t going to change anybody’s opinion on Daly, it provides a glimpse inside the life of one of the most unique figures in golf.

Playboy (you probably shouldn’t click this one at work)

Who knew that Rodney Dangerfield was actually predicting the future in Caddyshack?

I’m not necessarily a big fan of his music, but I’ve always thought that Justin Timberlake was a talented guy.  Last year, he opened his new golf course, Mirmichi in Memphis, TN.  ESPN E:60 has posted a great video with some info and background on the course.

Timberlake bought the original course for less than $1m, and put another $16m into renovations, changing the name in the process.  It’s the only course in the world to hold an Audubon Classic Sanctuary Certification.  And the quality of the golf course itself is supposed to be top-notch as well.

Next time I’m heading through Tennessee, I’m going to see if I can swing by to get in a round.  If everything I’ve heard is true, it should be well worth the drive.

Just a bit of self-promotion this evening…  I happened to notice some hits in my server logs coming from page this afternoon.  Lo and behold, when I headed over there I found my posts and from last week’s Viking Classic featured prominently.  I personally thought it was pretty cool.  Maybe at next tournament that we’re both attending, John will be willing to give me a 5 minute interview.  Hint hint…

Today at the Viking Classic, literally no other golfer had a gallery larger than a dozen people or so.  There were more volunteers than spectators on some holes.  Contrast that to John Daly, who was followed by throngs of people everywhere he went.  I was taking some pictures on the range before lunch when he walked up near where I was standing.  Within 30 seconds 50+ people that had gathered to watch him hit balls.

I took the picture above on the 13th fairway at the Viking.  I’m not exaggerating when I state that virtually no other golfer had more than 10-12 people in their gallery.  In order to spot Daly on the course, you just needed to look for the crowd.

As the tour struggles to keep viewership numbers up, you can expect to continue to see Daly walking tour fairways, regardless of whether or not he has a tour card.