John Daly Notches His First Tournament Win In Over 10 Years

John Daly Wins Beko Classic, image: golfchannel.com

John Daly Wins Beko Classic,, image: golfchannel.com

When you’re thinking about golf this week, it’s time you thought about John Daly. He is no stranger to media buzz, but it’s certainly been a while since he’s made headlines for a golf tournament win.  And while this particular victory isn’t associated with any tour, it still could be the long-overdue slump-buster that Daly has been looking for.

Let’s check out what this TaylorMade fan has been up to for the last decade, and see whether or not his first tournament win in over ten years is just the confidence boost that he’s needed.

The Beko Classic, Turkey

If you’ve never heard of the Beko Classic, then you’re not alone. This is one of the lesser known tournaments but, thanks to John Daly, it will be remembered as the competition in which he got his groove back.

Nevertheless, the New Course – located at Gloria Hotels & Resorts in Turkey – was the site of Daly’s latest win, in a tournament held over three rounds of play from December 4th through the 6th.  Certified by the PGAs of Europe, last weekend’s pro-am event welcomed players from around the world, including professional golfers Darren Clarke, as well as European Tour player Robert Coles.

Coles placed second to Daly during the event, losing to Big John by a single stroke after a tournament finale that almost resembled a signature John Daly meltdown.

The matches started out great for Daly, with Big John posting an impressive 66 to close out day one on the New Course.  Gloria’s “Old” Championship Golf Course was the site of the second day of play, where Daly shaved three strokes off his day-one score, posting a 63.  Day three – the final day of play – however, proved to be problematic for the 48-year-old legend, as a round full of birdies and pars on the front nine (with one little nagging bogey on the third) quickly turned into sequential bogies on the back. With four bogies in a row (to be exact), you’d think he and his TaylorMade golf balls were having a bit of a disagreement.

Luckily, Daly nailed a birdie on the 15th hole, and posted a final birdie on the 18th, crushing Coles’ winning aspirations. The 54-hole tournament spanning three days – combined with the weekend’s great weather – turned out to be just the formula that Daly needed to sink a title win.

Daly even spoke of his experience shortly after his win.  “It’s been great to be in Turkey – not just for me but for my whole family… this is a great place to come… it reminds me of Palm Springs so much with the beautiful weather here.”

Big Confidence Boost, Small Payday

Sometimes professional golfers get a real kick out of a huge tournament payout.  At other times, they just need a refreshing win and a moment at the top to rekindle those long-forgotten winning streaks. For John Daly, we’re certain that taking the 2014 Beko Classic was all about the latter.

With a winning payout of eight thousand dollars going to Daly for securing the win, the “big check” that was presented to Daly after winning the tournament wasn’t exactly living up to its name. Big John wasn’t hurting for the money though, as he proceeded to donate the Beko Classic winnings to local charities.

Still, winning the event may prove to pay out heavily for Daly in other ways moving into 2015.  “It feels great to win – as professionals we try to build on confidence so any time you win anything it boosts it.  It’s pretty much my last tournament of the year so I can hopefully go into 2015 with some extra confidence.”

Hopefully Daly’s first tournament win in over ten years is just the confidence boost that he’s been looking for.

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