Tiger Woods and John Daly have long represented opposite ends of golf’s fitness spectrum. Woods built his dominance on repetitive training. Meanwhile, Daly leaned into a more relaxed approach to conditioning. But there was a time when the two hilariously clashed. 

Back at the 2024 PNC Championship, the duo spotted each other at Orlando’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club while playing with their sons, Charlie Woods and John Daly II. 

The video, shared by PNC Championship, showed Woods shouting, “I’ll meet you in the gym!” He went on to hug the 59-year-old star. But Daly wasted no time in firing back. 

“At least gym is a three-letter word,” he said. “Yours is G-Y-M. Mine is B-A-R.”

Once again, Tiger Woods and the onlookers entered a laughing spree, as Woods remarked with a simple “right!”

Woods was known for a demanding training regimen. He routinely ran four miles in the morning, lifted weights, and hit balls for hours on the range.

The exchange was just a short glimpse of the respect they share for each other. Daly talked about it recently, talking about the first time they met.

"I was 21 when I first met him—he was 12. We were playing the Big Insurance Youth Classic at Texarkana Country Club, and he shot 72. I think I shot 69. For us, I think it was a Ben Hogan event back then. Then it became a Nike, and now it’s Korn Ferry. But I just knew this kid had something special."

And That Connection Still Exists Between John Daly and Tiger Woods

Daly also recently revealed he stays in touch with the golfer. "And we haven’t gone out to dinner all the time and all that, but we text a lot."

With Woods spending a big chunk of time on the sidelines, Daly wants to see his old friend return to the golf course.

"I always ask him how his health is and how he’s doing. Hopefully we’ll see him on the Champions Tour a few times this coming year."

In fact, Daly believes even if Woods is not at full strength, he can still dominate the tour! "He’s too good, and the thing about him—he only needs to be about 75% healthy to pretty much kick everybody’s a** out here."

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar