Fairytales do exist in golf, and John Daly’s 1991 PGA Championship win is one of the prime examples. From ninth alternate to lifting the Wanamaker Trophy, Daly’s story never gets old.

Daly was just a PGA Tour rookie back then and had yet to secure the first PGA title of his career. After moving to the first alternate on Wednesday afternoon, he decided to make the nine-hour drive to Crooked Stick GC from Memphis, Tennessee.

"I had no idea all these exemptions were involved in winning this thing. I just came here to play golf and got lucky and won. Everybody knows I'm a Cinderella story." Daly said.

Nick Price suddenly withdrew the night before the major as his wife was expecting a baby. This opened the gate for Daly to feature at the major.

Daly linked up with Price’s caddie, Jeff ‘Squeaky’ Medlen, who had stayed behind. The duo went off to a flying start with the American scoring opening rounds of 69 and 67. 

Heading into the weekend, Daly conjured up a two-stroke lead, and the whole audience was in awe of his power off the tee. He admitted on Friday that he was just “thrilled to be playing” and would “remember this day the rest of my life.”

"Why do I hit it so far? I really don't know. Maybe it's all those McDonald's burgers. Maybe it's because I chopped some wood when I was a kid." Daly said.

Daly’s persona was an instant hit among the crowd as he scored a 69 on the third round and extended his lead to three strokes.

Daly celebrated every good shot by “shaking his fist” and letting the crowd know “how pumped up he was”, according to Golf World magazine’s Gary Van Sickle.

In the final round, he ended up with a score of 71, which was enough to secure the Wanamaker trophy. He received a vivid ovation from the crowd up the 18th fairway, and his nine-hour drive prior to the tournament had totally paid off.

This was Daly’s first PGA Tour win, and he went on to add some more titles to his trophy cabinet in the years to come.

John Daly’s Wins On The PGA Tour

Daly secured four more titles following the 1991 victory. In the following year, he recorded his second win on the PGA Tour by six strokes, lifting the B.C. Open.

In 1994, after scoring 14-under par, Daly won the BellSouth Classic by just one stroke. His second major win was at The Open Championship in 1995, where he faced Italy’s Costantino Rocca in a playoff. 

Daly’s last win on the tour came almost a decade after his Open win, at the Buick Invitational. He now primarily features on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Souvik Roy