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Back in Play: Daly may be coming to event near you
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Published: June 1, 2009
Mark Brazil is like any other PGA Tour tournament director -- he is in the business of selling tickets. It's about promoting the Wyndham Championship at every turn.
And it's no surprise that Brazil doesn't beat around the bush when the name John Daly comes up.
"I think that our job is to give the golf fans what they want," Brazil said. "I get more calls about John Daly than anybody. That's just a fact, and it's not even close."
Daly's not-so-secret six-month suspension by the PGA Tour was lifted last week, and there's been no slow down in the selling of Daly. He no longer can play in any PGA Tour tournament he chooses because of his status on tour, so grabbing a sponsor's exemption is his best bet.
Next week he'll play in the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, which is close to where he lives. It should be noted that St. Jude is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.
Daly's been have written off through the years by many. However, Daly, who has won a PGA Championship and British Open, keeps coming back in different fashions and at different weights.
He has "trimmed" down about 50 pounds thanks to lap-band surgery. He has dyed his hair and is wearing trousers through an endorsement deal that are so colorful that someone can't look at them too long or risk going blind.
Still, the public has a fascination with Daly, who at age 43 has been to alcohol rehab twice and is going through his third divorce.
It was a year ago when Daly was given a night in the Forsyth County Jail after having too much to drink at a local Hooter's. According to the report, he had passed out and his tour bus didn't want him back on the bus so officers decided to use a state law that allows an intoxicated person to be held overnight to sober up.
The mug shot of Daly, complete in the Hooter's orange jump suit, made it to most major newspapers and golf magazines. It wasn't long after that episode that the tour suspended Daly for six months.
Brazil, who gave Daly a sponsor's exemption into last year's tournament where Daly made the cut, recognizes the chance that a tournament director in giving Daly a spot.
"We will be offering him a sponsor's exemption and we hope that his schedule will allow him to come," Brazil said.
Before Brazil committed to offering Daly an exemption, he made sure that the Wyndham Championship's foundation board was OK with it.
"John Daly is the No. 3 draw in golf behind Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson)," Brazil said. "If you think about last year at Sedgefield on the final day, he wasn't close to the lead but he had some of the biggest crowds following him…. He's just got that appeal."
The Wyndham, scheduled for Aug. 20-23, is the final regular-season tournament. Brazil has eight sponsor's exemptions to dole out.
"We are about trying to bring attention to our golf tournament," Brazil said. "What if John Daly gets into contention at our event or any event he plays in this summer -- it would be a huge story … I just think the positives outweigh the negatives."
Sharp wins coaches award
Brian Sharp, the associate head coach for Virginia Tech's men's golf team, won the Jan Strickland Award given to the top assistant coach as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Sharp, a former star at Virginia Tech who is from Winston-Salem and grew up playing at Forsyth Country Club, received his award last week at the NCAA Championships at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio.
Sharp, who played minitours for several years reaching as high as the Nationwide Tour, graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995 and in 2006 received his masters degree in business from Virginia Tech.
"The part I enjoy the most is working with our players each day, and hope that they will share in this award and know that their hard work is responsible for this accolade," Sharp said at the banquet. "Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Margaret, for her understanding and support every day."
Sharp is in his sixth season at Virginia Tech and was quickly elevated to Coach Jay Hardwick's top assistant. Sharp's duties include recruiting, the off-season conditioning program, instruction and player academic progress, as well as managing the Virginia Tech Golf Team Complex.
Sharp, who was captain of the Hokies in 1994 and '95, and his wife have two small children, Meredith and Cameron.
Sharp will be the assistant coach on the United States team for the 2010 Palmer Cup, which will be played in Northern Ireland.
Around the green
Senior Nannette Hill and sophomore Natalie Sheary of Wake Forest were named All-Americas by the National Golf Coaches Association. Hill was a second-team choice and Sheary, the ACC champion, was an honorable mention. They helped the Deacons finish 13th at the NCAA Championships. Duke's Amanda Blumenherst won the Dinah Shore Award for excelling on the course and in the classroom, and she was named second-team All-America. Blumenherst's teammate and fellow senior, Jennie Lee, was also named to the second team....
The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation has a local tour with seven single-day tournaments in the Triad. The first tournament is June 17 at Bryan Park. The tour is set up for boys and girls ages 14 and under. Some of the other tour stops are Tanglewood Park (July 8), Salem Glen (July 15) and Reynolds Park (July 16). For more information on the tour and its schedule, go to www.uskidsgolf.com….
The Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point will receive a special commemorative plaque for its contributions to last year's Patriot Gold Day fundraiser. The members and staff at Old North State Club raised more than $41,000 for the families of the military. It was the most money raised in the Carolinas PGA Section. Tom Ducey, the director of golf at the Old North State Club, will accept the plaque later this week. The Carolinas Section had 367 facilities raise money totaling $148,851, the most of the 41 sections throughout the country.
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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