Remembering John Daly’s epic Pinehurst No. 2 meltdown

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of John Daly?

It could be the way he crushes the golf ball off the tee. Or maybe his laid-back personality — he’s always unapologetically done things his own way.

Regardless of what you think of when you hear Daly’s name, in the more than 30 years he’s been in pro golf, the now 58-year-old pro has provided some unforgettable moments. One of them, you might recall, came at a Pinehurst U.S. Open.

And since the 124th U.S. Open begins today on Pinehurst No. 2, we thought it would be a good time to revisit. Cue the disastrous meltdown at the 1999 U.S. Open.

Heading into the 1999 U.S. Open, Daly was struggling. While he had two T20 finishes on the season prior to the tournament, he had missed the cut in each of the previous three events leading up to the major. Expectations were low, but after Daly’s opening-round 68, his name was atop the leaderboard.

The momentum didn’t carry over to the following three rounds, however, as Daly went on to shoot 77-81-83 to finish 29 over (68th place). And it was during that final round when he gave us one of golf’s most memorable meltdowns.

With his ball resting at the bottom of a hill behind the green on the par-4 8th hole, Daly hit a putt toward the difficult pin placement, but it didn’t clear the crown of the hill and rolled back to him. On his second attempt, Daly hit his ball up the hill, but it didn’t hold, sending it trickling down again.

Fuming, Daly walked up to the moving ball, swung his putter at it, and just completely lost it. He smacked his ball across the green and back into the fairway — earning himself a two-stroke penalty.

He eventually chipped on and two-putted, finishing the hole with a whopping 11.

In true Daly fashion, when asked about it afterwards, he claimed it was out of protest against the USGA’s pin placements, saying many of them were too difficult given the treacherous greens at Pinehurst No. 2.

“Yeah, it was frustrating and I lost my patience,” he told NBC-TV after signing his scorecard (per ESPN.com). “But they have too many unfair pins. It’s frustrating.”

But Daly didn’t just voice his displeasure with the pins, he also vowed to avoid future U.S. Opens because it didn’t fit his brand of golf.

“The U.S. Open is not John Daly’s style of golf. I’m not going to Pebble Beach (where the U.S. Open will be held) next year and watch the USGA ruin that golf course, too,” he said. “It’s not worth it. This is my last U.S. Open — ever. I’ve had it with the USGA and the way they run their tournaments. The USGA loves to embarrass guys who play in their tournaments.”

Daly eventually backtracked on his comments, while also apologizing for his outburst — and did play in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Although he also blew up there too, shooting an opening-round 83 and abruptly withdrew from the event.

With Pinehurst No. 2 once again hosting this year’s U.S. Open — and with a fast and firm test ahead — we could see some craziness on some of these greens over the next few days. And while Daly isn’t participating this year, it’s ironic that his last-ever U.S. Open (2005) came from the same spot where he provided a memory that’ll forever live on — Pinehurst No. 2.

You can watch Daly’s interpretation of his meltdown in the video below, via Pinehurst’s YouTube channel.

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor