John Daly continues to make the rounds, and Thursday as part of a PGA Tour Champions Instagram Live, the two-time major champion said his golfing family has been extended a bit.
Daly said after he failed to make the cut at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage, he spent some time with the father of who is now the No. 3 player in the world.
“Brooks Koepka, I’ve got him calling me Uncle John now because me and his dad got along so good at the PGA in New York last year,” Daly said.
“I love Brooks, but I love his dad more though, man. He is one cool cat. And he doesn’t push Brooks. I’m kind of like a father to my son like Brooks’ dad is to him. I stay away. Do your thing. And I respect him for that.”
Daly said Bob Koepka was enjoying himself so much, he temporarily forgot the reason for his visit to Farmingdale.
“We had a few beers together. I had played early on Friday when I missed the cut at the PGA, and he sat down with me and my family for a little bit and talked,” Daly said. “And he goes, ‘Oh my God, Brooks is probably on six right now, I need to go out and watch my son play. I’ve had too much fun sitting here.’ Brooks was leading the tournament and he ends up winning.”
Koepka edged Dustin Johnson by two strokes that week to defend his PGA Championship crown.
As for Daly, he expects to be back at this year’s PGA Championship on August 6-9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, as is his wont by virtue of his 1991 victory at Crooked Stick.
It’s conceivable that will be Daly’s first tournament action since the coronavirus pandemic took hold. He hopes to play the Ally Challenge on the PGA Tour Champions schedule in late July but isn’t sure if the event will go off as planned.
“What’s weird is if I come back and my first tournament is the PGA Championship,” Daly said. “The Tour, those guys are going to have four to five tournaments under their belts. I’m not going to have any.
“It may not be pretty.”
Even without playing, Daly has grabbed some spotlight recently after he appeared in a video shot for members of President Trump’s golf courses. Daly said in the video that he had a coronavirus remedy consisting of vodka, Diet Coke and cigarettes, and he caught some flak for the statement.
“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings,” the 54-year-old said. “Hell, I was just doing it for fun, just try to get some laughs in the tough times we’re going through.”
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