John Daly had worried that using a driver would be too dangerous at The Olympic Club, where the fairways are narrow and the rough thick. AP/FILE

Daly goes back to driver

Web posted June 21, 1998

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- John Daly had his driver back in the bag Saturday yet his biggest shot of the third round was with a 3-wood.

After vowing for two days that a driver would not touch his hands during the U.S. Open, Daly pulled out the club around which he has built his reputation as the longest hitter in golf.

Daly had worried that using a driver would be too dangerous at The Olympic Club, where the fairways are narrow and the rough thick. It took him two days to overcome that concern.

``I'm not going to fear a golf course any more,'' he said. ``My game is to hit the driver. It would have been nice to see what I could have done if I had it in the bag the first two days.''

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The reunion with his driver seemed to revive Daly's power game. On No. 7, a 288-yard par-4, he became the first golfer of the tournament to reach that green when he did it with a 3-wood off the tee.

Frank Lickliter, playing in the twosome ahead of Daly, was on the green when the balled rolled on the putting surface. He raised his arms, palms up, as he looked back at the tee.

Daly two-putted for a birdie.

After a practice round earlier this week, Daly decided to shelve his driver for the first time since the first two rounds of the 1993 PGA Championship at Inverness.

It seemed strange for Daly to be ignoring his best-known weapon during a major tournament. Instead, he hit 3-woods and 2-irons off the tee, and shot a 1-under 69 in the first round.

The temptation became greater on Friday, when he shot a 75 and his patience began ebbing. He said it was tough to scale back his game to accommodate the golf course, adding: ``I hate it, but it is challenging.''

After getting reacquainted with his driver on the practice range Friday night, Daly put the club back in his bag and used it six times Saturday with mixed results in another 75 that left him at 219, 12 strokes behind leader Payne Stewart.

``I believe in a major championship you should be able to hit driver. Maybe they should start making golf courses longer,'' said Daly who has two major titles to his credit. ``It's crazy not being able to hit driver on a golf course. It's not golf.''