Dutiful dad: Daly now a teaching pro- ONE-TIME "Wild Thing" John Daly was destined to comfortably miss the cut – at which stage he was 12-over-par – before being forced to withdraw after 14 holes of his second round with a hip injury
But there was an important off-course duty awaiting Daly, who is schooling his seven-year-old son, also John.
Daly – who is on a two-week stint on this side of the Atlantic taking in the PGA and next week’s Wales Open – took his fourth ex-wife, Sherrie, to court over her interference in his visitation rights and his son’s school absences and her failure to provide him with proper speech therapy.
Sherrie was even sentenced to three days in prison, with the judge telling her: “Ms Daly needs to understand what the inside of a jail looks like.
Daly and girlfriend Anna Cladakis are now providing on-line schooling, explaining: “We probably won’t put him in school until he’s fifth grade (10 years old). He’s way, way behind – he missed 84 days of kindergarten – and I’m teaching him.
“It’s tough, but it’s neat. You learn adjectives, nouns, compound words and stuff you tend to forget.”
Centre of attention: Gibson praise for champion
ALTHOUGH he indulged in some post-round stretching outside the recorder's hut, Michael Hoey – winner of the Madeira Island Open on his last outing – was quick to allay any injury worries. "It's just a tightening around the hips," he observed. "When you hit as many shots as we do on the range, it's something you need to work on."
Hoey has been inundated with texts of congratulations since his win last Sunday in Madeira, with one of the most precious coming from Irish rugby legend Mike Gibson. "When I'm home I play golf with Mike in Royal Belfast and he's the most down to earth guy ever. You wouldn't believe he was side-stepping the best players in the world."
DUTILFUL DAD II
FOUR bogeys in his last five holes scuppered Peter Lawrie's bid to make the cut, although he had a better reason than most for heading for the airport: his wife, Phillipa, is due the couple's fourth child.
"I'll go and hold her hand and hope for the best," said the Dubliner.
"It's a pity (missing the cut). I like this event. But when you have something hanging over you, your mind is not really on it. You're always thinking something is going to happen. All of a sudden, it went sideways those last few holes."
Lawrie hopes to return for British Open qualifying at Sunningdale on Monday week.
