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SAAB WALES OPEN

June 1, 2011

John Daly

NEWPORT, WALES

Q. A few days on the course what do you make of it all?
JOHN DALY: It's wonderful, good golf course.

Q. And your game, how do you think it's suited?
JOHN DALY: Well, with the wind blowing like it is, it's pretty tough. It's a matter of -- playing the Pro-Am today, not a lot of birdie holes out there today with the wind blowing this way.

Q. One of those courses you look at on telly that it's different when you see it live?
JOHN DALY: It's like Augusta, you don't get the perspective on television. You look at people who has never been there, it's a lot more hilly than you think it is.

Q. What do you think of your chances over the next four days?
JOHN DALY: I don't know, just try to go out and do the best I can.

Q. What do you think it depends on?
JOHN DALY: Just playing. Hit good and keep making some putts.

Q. In terms of The European Tour experience at the moment, are you enjoying being back here?
JOHN DALY: I always love coming over here. Ever since the PGA in '91, the fans have been great. The tournaments have always been great and the players are really nice. All of the players on the European side are really, really good side, so it makes it easy whether you play good or bad.

Q. I suppose The Open Championship, as well, cemented your place.
JOHN DALY: Yeah, it helps, whether that or whatever, just they love golf over here. I think they understand it tremendously over here, too. So they don't applaud for a bad shot.
I know my fans get upset when I hit a bad shot and they applaud for a good one. Some tournaments in the States, it's more of a party atmosphere than the golf itself. So the fans are just wonderful over here.

Q. Playing outside of the states, is that something that improves your game that maybe more people could do?
JOHN DALY: I've always enjoyed it. I feel more at peace coming over here. I think I can work on my game a little more without the distractions and stuff. You know, so it's just more peaceful, more laid back.

Q. Is this the first time you've ever been here and played in Wales.
JOHN DALY: Yeah, it is, actually. I've been all over the world. I've never been to Wales. It's good to be here.

Q. What's your first impressions?
JOHN DALY: It's a wonderful golf course. The people are nice; the food is good; so how can you go wrong.

Q. You played with our football manager, Gary Speed, today, what was that like?
JOHN DALY: He's a great guy. He looks like an athlete, and I didn't know much about him until I played, but a guy that's always in shape and one hell of -- as you call it, football player. It's great to meet a great guy.

Q. Call it soccer probably then. Do you know anything about Wales as a football team or even soccer?
JOHN DALY: I know a lot about soccer but I don't know a lot about the countries, there's so many of them. He said he's coaching the international, which would be for the World Cup and stuff like that. And it's weird, you know, he's a coach, and he's only got eight games he's talking about. It's weird, you never think of a sport that you only play eight games in.
But he says he has a very young team that by the time the World Cup comes around, they will be ready.

Q. It's great to have you in Wales, you're such a big name, the fans would like to see you. Strange though that you having been a major winner have never played in a Ryder Cup and this is a Ryder Cup venue.
JOHN DALY: I felt like there might have been two or three chances I had that I really thought I was going to play on The Ryder Cup Team and it would have been nice, but you know, you can't really do much about it. I thought '91 was a great shot at it. Of course, '95 and the year I won in '04, they were even years, I thought I had a great shot at it but never got picked. A couple of times I was right around 11th or 12th and thought I had a good chance to get picked and I never did.

Q. Obviously one of the biggest regrets in your career, imagine not playing Ryder Cup?
JOHN DALY: It can't really be a regret if you don't get picked. If I would have played my way in, then I wish I could have. I thought I would have helped the team or it would have been a great -- would have been great to be a part of.
Winning the Open golf will always be the greatest memory I will ever have and winning the PGA was wonderful, as well. It would be nice to win again.

Q. We've been asking the Welsh golfers this week to describe themselves; how would you describe you? Are you larger than life?
JOHN DALY: No, nobody is larger than life. Life is life.

Q. You've certainly had a colourful life and colourful clothes now.
JOHN DALY: Yeah, definitely got colourful clothes, LoudMouth is doing really well and we are having fun with it.

Q. Does that give you extra confidence when you are playing rounds of golf that people like the way you are, like your louder than life attitude of golf?
JOHN DALY: Certain people. We are doing really, really well with loud mouth. We have expanded all over the world now our distribution centers are all over the world to fulfill overnight on the website, fulfill all of our orders we need to do and it gives us the opportunity to come out with a lot more designs, because we are so intact with it now and it makes it easy if somebody wants to buy a pair of pants or shorts or whatever, they can definitely do it the next day.
That was a struggle at the beginning because we didn't know how big we were going to be and we just kind of got big overnight. We are having a blast with it.

Q. Medically you've had your problems; how do we find you ahead of this Wales Open?
JOHN DALY: It's not good. My L-4 and 5 are kind of out. I'll get an MRI done when I get home and hopefully we can get it resolved but this week is going to be playing with the pain I think.

Q. God willing, four days?
JOHN DALY: I hope so. I hope so.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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