Daly determined to bounce back in 2007

John Daly’s list of calamities in 2006 was more extensive than one of his colossal drives – domestic difficulties, torn hand ligaments, a broken pinky, a sore left hip, sciatic nerve problems and plenty of missed cuts.

The thoroughly miserable year that also included a bout with a gastrointestinal virus at the Canadian Open closed with Daly a career-low 193rd on the money list, resulting in the forfeiture of his PGA Tour card.

But as Daly approaches his 41st birthday, he’s determined to respond to his latest year of turbulence with an updated chapter to a career that began with a stunning, storybook triumph at the 1991 PGA Championship.

Pressed by his non-exempt status but buoyed by the goodwill of tournament sponsors who already have offered more than 20 invites to one of the game’s most popular players, Daly is recharged, healthy and motivated for 2007.

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he’s scheduled to play with Hootie and the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker, will be Daly’s fourth tournament of the season and his third in a row.

The chain-smoking Daly began his year with a tie for 28th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, which earned him a $36,140 paycheck. He missed the cut at the Buick Invitational, which he won in 2004 in another one of his comebacks, and didn’t make it to the weekend at the FBR Open in Phoenix.

Very little was good last year. As Daly was making his debut at the Buick, he learned his fourth wife, Sherrie, had reported to a Kentucky prison to serve a five-month sentence after pleading guilty to charges involving an illegal gambling and drug operation. Though Daly was not implicated, his life became chaotic.

“It was just brutal. Nothing went right all last year.”

Daly has a new coach, Michael Owen, and the two have focused on Daly’s putting.

“Things are looking up,” he says. “This year can’t be any worse that last year.”