A sense of déjà vu? Perhaps. Yesterday, just as he did an age ago in 1991, John Daly - the most enigmatic golfer of his generation - tore up the book on how to prepare for a major when, having forsaken the chances to play any practice rounds at Southern Hills in favour of hitting the slot machines at the local Cherokee gaming casino, he shot an opening round 67, three under, in the 89th US PGA Championship.

It was an extraordinary performance that had just about everyone shaking their heads, some in disbelief and others with no surprise at all.

"I think we all know JD is extremely talented," said Tiger Woods. "Once he gets going, he plays very aggressively. We know he can shoot good numbers."

Woods, seeking to claim a first major of the season, opened his campaign with a 71 that was uncharacteristically spoiled by two bogeys in his closing three holes. "I felt I hit the ball better than my score indicates. I just need to clean up my round a little bit," he said.

On a steaming day with the mercury pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat and the course took its toll on a number of players. Angel Cabrera, the US Open champion, was one of those to suffer, running up a 10 on the par three sixth hole that effectively ended his challenge as soon as it begun.

Even major champions, it seems, aren't spared the wrath of the gods.

Daly has suffered his share of bad times, on and off the course. He has claimed to have lost up to $60 million in gambling and has been through three divorces. He doesn't have a full tour card and, also battling shoulder and rib injuries, he has availed of sponsor's invitations whenever he can. He is exempt from the PGA as a former champion; and it is a tournament that has his fondest memories.

Back in 1991, he got a place in the field only as ninth alternate when Nick Price withdrew. Daly drove through the night to take his place in the field at Crooked Stick, played the course without a practice round . . . and won.

Yet, his reasons for not playing a practice round here this week were different. Daly deemed the weather to be too hot. Instead, finding time away from the slot machines on the Indian reservation, he decided to use an electric cart to play and practice at that resort course rather than learning how to play Southern Hills.

So, once he got going yesterday, the only gameplan he had was to be aggressive off the tee.

"I didn't know what else to do," said Daly.

The ploy, somehow, worked. He had six straight one-putts on the front nine and only needed to use the blade a total of 12 times in reaching the turn in a bogey-free 32, three under. On the way home, Daly birdied the long 13th and suffered his only dropped shot on the 16th, where he was forced to lay-up short of the creek having again found rough off his drive.

Considering the ups-and-downs of his golfing and personal life, we wondered had he ever had reason to use a sports psychologist? "To be a sports psychologist you gotta be insane to listen to all our shit that we've got to talk about. My attitude is to just keep going, you've just got to keep plugging and keep going."

Daly, who revealed that he avoided water in favour of diet Pepsi to combat the heat yesterday, hasn't won since the 2004 Buick Invitational, but claimed that this return to form, which might have surprised just about everyone else, including the players and caddies who apparently had opened a book on which player would be the first to fold in the heat and installed Daly as favourite, didn't surprise him.

"I just feel like I'm swinging too good and playing too good so that something good is going to happen. I believe that, otherwise I wouldn't be playing."

While Daly posted the clubhouse lead with his opening 67, a shot ahead of Arron Oberholser, the on-course lead was held by England's Graeme Storm, who chipped in for birdie on the second, his 11th hole, to move to five-under-par.

Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, reached the turn in level par after a front nine that saw him bogey the par five5 sixth where he pulled his second shot into trees, before recovering the shot with a 15-footer for birdie on the ninth.

Sergio Garcia, the man who lost out to Harrington in a play-off at the British Open in Carnoustie, recorded a level par 70. He didn't enjoy the heat. "You're constantly sweating so you have to dry yourself. Dry your arms, your hands and the grip and everything . . . and 15 seconds later you're sweating again. So it's not easy."

One player to discover how tough things could be was the unfortunate Cabrera, who - playing in Harrington's group of major winners - as he ran up a 10 on the sixth after putting his first tee-shot out of bounds. Then, playing three off the tee, he again put his tee-shot out of bounds and, having reloaded and playing five off the tee, he put his next shot into the greenside pond. From there, he chipped over the water onto the green and proceeded to three-putt for a septuplet bogey.