GOLF/International Open: John Daly, the 1995 British Open champion, has revealed he suffered a "mini-stroke' only five days ago and attributed it to a course of diet pills he had been following.
"My left leg went numb for six hours and I lost some feeling in my left hand," said Daly, who has risen to be the world's number 41 from 507th in the past 18 months.
"Apparently I had an allergic reaction to the diet pills I've been taking. I went to hospital and I've never had so many needles stuck in me."
However, the 36-year-old, who has lost over two stone, was told to give up smoking and given to all-clear to fly in from Chicago. He spent part of yesterday practising at The Belfry for the B&H International, which starts tomorrow.
"It's really weird. I've been taking those diet pills for a long time to keep my weight down. The doctor told me, 'This couldn't have happened at a better time. You were walking straight into a stroke if you kept taking those pills'."
Daly has not played since the WorldCom Classic at Hilton Head three weeks ago, when he suffered a hand injury playing a shot from thick rough.
Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, has fired his caddy of 10 years and 31 tournament victories, Alastair McLean, after finishing 23rd at last week's French Open. The Scot began that event promisingly with a 67, but fell away towards the end and the two of them made a dispirited pair as they trudged the final holes.
Their partnership was one of the most enduring in an often volatile world and saw McLean bank more than £1 million. Only Bernhard Langer and Pete Coleman, who are nudging 20 years, have been together longer in Europe.
Montgomerie will team up with Jason Henning this week as the South African's regular employer, Robert Karlsson, is not competing. The Scot has not won an event since the Scandinavian Masters in August, his longest barren spell for seven years.
"This was purely a professional decision and it wasn't easy," said Guy Kinnings, Montgomerie's manager.
Montgomerie's new caddie will be unveiled this afternoon when he joins other members of the Ryder Cup side for a practice session together, although Kinnings thinks that the initial choice could be just a short-term measure while the player weighs up various options.
Liverpool's Kevin Laffey was alongside Montgomerie for his debut against the Americans in 1991, but then came the link-up with fellow Scot McLean.
They became one of the best-known duos in golf as Montgomerie reached the European number one spot in 1993 and reigned until Lee Westwood took his crown two seasons ago. Montgomerie reached world number two in 1996 and was close to toppling Greg Norman at the top.
But while he and McLean had 31 wins together, there were heart-breaking near-misses as well, most notably to Ernie Els in the 1994 and 1997 US Opens and to Steve Elkington in the 1995 US PGA championship. The Australian sank a 25-foot putt in their sudden death play-off.
McLean was a key part of "Team Monty", providing great support for Montgomerie both during his uneasy relationship with American fans and during the turbulent time in his private life, which led to a temporary separation from his wife, Eimear.
But Montgomerie, for all his success over the years, remains ambitious and will now be hoping a change of caddie brings a change in his recent fortunes.
Guardian Service
