THE 150TH OPEN

July 14, 2022

John Daly

Mixed Zone

Q. How did you play out there today on The Old Course?

JOHN DALY: I've never had any more 70, 80, 90-foot putts in my life. They put the pins in good spots. Those were Sunday pins. They were brutal. It's hard to get the ball close with wind or no wind. It was tough for me.

But I hung in there. I just had so many putts that -- it's tough to two-putt from 80, 90 feet when you've got about eight of them, eight or nine of them. It seemed like I'd make a bogey and then make a birdie. If I can get rid of the bogeys, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Q. You played with Bryson before in a competitive round?

JOHN DALY: No, not in a competitive round.

Q. What were your impressions seeing him up close?

JOHN DALY: It was fun just to see the power he has. He's hitting his 4-iron 280, 290 off the fee. On 15 he hit 7-iron off the tee, which is amazing. It's fun to watch. It really is. It's a blast to watch.

Q. 15, he hit 7, you hit driver. It seemed like you guys were sort of in the same territory?

JOHN DALY: No, not on 15. 16, we were close. He hit 3-wood -- I think he hit 4-iron on 16 and 7-iron on 15. No, I've got to hit driver. I just feel, if I can get it down to the left, I can hit kind of a shorter iron in like I've always played this course, and 15, 16, I've always tried to go left.

Q. It seemed like you had a nice little rapport out there. Did you know him before this?

JOHN DALY: Yeah, I've spoken to him. We've spoken a lot at majors. I play the PGA and this one. I've seen him at a few PGA TOUR events over the years. Great kid. I love watching him play. It's really cool.

Q. What about the crowd? There's quite a rapport still between you and the crowd here?

JOHN DALY: I love it. I've always loved the British Open. Being here, the fans for all these years have been just awesome.

Q. On the 13th, there was kind of a laugh that you had with the crowd that we couldn't quite hear. You got your driver and Bryson hit --

JOHN DALY: 14.

Q. You said something?

JOHN DALY: Yeah, 13. I said, well, he would hit driver -- I'm hitting the driver for a totally different reason. I want to get it past that left bunker. If he hits driver, he wants to drive the green is basically what I meant.

Q. It's not exactly a golf course you overpower. Are there any nuggets of wisdom you shared with Bryson out there?

JOHN DALY: No, he knew the course. He knew what he was doing. I'm thinking on 2 and 3 and a few of the holes on the front, I think if he hits driver, he could drive 2, he could almost drive 3.

He played real conservative. That's his game plan. If I had that power, I'd be trying to drive some of those par-4s. As good as he hits it, as far and as straight as he hits it, that's what I would do.

Jack always said avoid the least amount of bunkers you can off the tee, but 2 and 3, none of those bunkers come in play for him. But he's got his game plan. If I had that power, I'd be hitting driver on every freakin' hole, man. I'd be loading up, trying to drive them all.

Q. A lot of good advice about this course. What about Muirfield, a place you played in the past? The women are going for The Open championship for them for the first time. What would be your advice on playing Muirfield for the ladies?

JOHN DALY: Muirfield, there's a lot more -- Muirfield off the tee is a lot tougher because you've got both sides you've got to worry about. Like I say, you can hit it left here all day on the front. You can hit it left on the back and most of the time you're good. But Muirfield is different. It's a different golf course.

And the winds can really just blow your mind there. So you've got to be careful with the wind at Muirfield. It can switch in a heartbeat.

Q. How cool is the milestone they get to actually play?

JOHN DALY: It's great. I think the ladies should be on rotations that we play on. These golf courses that we play and they've played the British Opens over all these years, it's kind of almost a home, especially with six or seven of eight of them in Scotland.

I know they don't want to go back, but it would be great to see Turnberry again on the rotation. What daddy Trump has done to that place, I heard is amazing.

They'll enjoy it. Muirfield is a hard golf course, but it's fair. They'll enjoy it.