U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying has its usual assortment of interesting entries, perhaps none more so than that of John Daly, whose U.S. Open exploits suggest that perhaps the Open is a tournament he'd wish to avoid.
Recall that in the final round of the 1999 Open at Pinehurst Daly shot 83, then declared, "I'll never play in a U.S. Open again. I've had it with the USGA and the way they run their tournaments."
A day later, he apologized for his outburst, but a year later, at the 2000 Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he made a 14 on the 18th hole to shoot another 83, then withdrew.
Yet Daly, who hasn't played an Open since 2005 and has played only two of them since Pebble Beach, is entered in a 36-hole sectional qualifier on Monday in Memphis. Go figure.
For more on the sectional qualifiers, here's David Shefter's story for the USGA.
-- John Strege
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