The Senior PGA Tour’s reaction to John Daly’s latest bombshell is one of bewilderment.
Daly, one of the PGA Tour’s biggest attractions, asserted last week that some Tour players used drugs and that drug testing should be mandatory. Daly was suspended by the Tour last winter and went through alcohol rehabilitation before returning in March.
“I don’t know how to react to that except to say, in my humble opinion, we saved the young man’s life,” said Bob Murphy. “We clamped down on him at a time when he needed it. He got help. He’s a lucky, lucky young guy. He should be very happy that he’s clean and he shouldn’t be worrying about anyone else.”
Murphy, seventh on the Senior Tour money list, is here for this week’s Ameritech Senior Open at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora.
Daly was quoted in a London tabloid while at the Scottish Open that he had heard rumors of drug use by some players on the PGA Tour. If drug testing were tried, he said, he would be one of the cleanest players out there. Player reaction has varied from Peter Jacobsen saying drug testing might be something that should be looked at to Curtis Strange saying on ESPN that Daly “should crawl back under the rock he came from.”
Murphy, who was ESPN’s PGA commentator for five years prior to joining the Senior Tour, isn’t naive enough to think that the PGA Tour is 100 percent pure. He is willing to make a wager with Daly on the results if drug testing were mandatory.
“I would like to bet him $1,000, if he has $1,000-and I’ll bet he does,” said Murphy, “that if you tested everyone on the Tour, you might find somebody in the younger set using whatever they’re supposed to be using. That would be the percentage of the population. I would also bet that you would not find a good player (using drugs). That would be my bet.
“I don’t think you can do it. I know you can’t drink a lot of beer. I know you can’t drink a lot of booze. And you can’t hang out late. You can’t go to all the parties and play golf. I don’t think you can do whatever those other things are.”
Lecture time: Murphy let about 200 fans inside his head during a unique walking clinic on the par-5 14th and 18th holes. He played the two holes and went through his thought process on each shot, taking questions from the gallery, which walked with him inside the ropes. The clinics are usually for Cadillac dealers and customers, but Tuesday’s was open to the public at Stonebridge.
“It’s part of a continuing effort by the Senior PGA Tour to let people know we care about them coming out on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” said Murphy. “We want to keep the interest level up in golf and share a little information about stuff that we know. Let everybody know that this is not automatic, everything doesn’t happen without some thought going into it.”
Fans’ choice? Expected to be a popular player this week is U.S. Senior Open winner Simon Hobday, who won two weeks ago at Pinehurst Country Club in North Carolina. On Tuesday, Hobday toured Stonebridge, where he tied for second in last year’s tournament.
Feeling better: The health of Gary Adams, father of the metal wood, has taken a turn for the better, said his father, Vale Adams of McHenry. Vale, Senior Tour representative for Founders Club, reports that his son has gained 10 pounds and is able to digest food for the first time since his pancreas surgery in 1991.
Gary Adams founded Taylor Made Golf Co., which pioneered the use of metal woods from its early factory in McHenry. He moved the company to California and then sold it before starting Founders Club. He is chairman emeritus of Founders Club.
“This is really the first solid encouragement we’ve had since September of `91,” said Vale. “We’re just ecstatic about it. We hope that he’ll be back to take a very active role in the company.”
Gary Adams was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after his first operation in 1991. He went through chemotherapy and radiation treatment but doctors have since decided he probably has pancreatitis, his father said.
Pip of a chip: Gay Brewer’s chip to 3 feet in a chip-off was good for victory in the Ameritech Grand Champions Shootout Tuesday at Stonebridge. Brewer and partner Howie Johnson won $4,000 in the six-team competition over five holes. Joe Jimenez and Charlie Sifford took second.
