John Daly is a professional golfer popularly known as Long John due to his driving distance off the tee. The American is also known for his personal life, wives, attitude, and non-country club appearance. His major achievements include winning the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 Open Championship.
In the history of the PGA Tour, Long John was the first player to average above 300 yards per drive. He maintained this record solely until 2003 and kept it till 2008. Daly is also recorded as the only British or American man to not participate in the Ryder Cup after claiming victory at two major golf championships.
Wild Thing, as he is also called, is a very successful businessman owning different business outfits including a golf course design company. He also writes and records his own music of which he has released two albums already. In addition, Daly has an endorsement from LoudMouth Golf Apparel.
Early Life and Rise to Fame
John Daly was born on April 28, 1966, in Carmichael, California as the last child to his parents. At age 4, the family comprising of his parents, an elder brother, and sister moved to Dardanelle, Arkansas.
His high school education was at Helias High School in Jefferson City, Missouri. He enrolled at the University of Arkansas for his college education and at that time played golf with the university’s golf team but he later dropped out of college.
For this bloke, golf playing began at the age of five and has continued to date. He first played as an amateur in the 1986 Open and by the next season in 1987, he was a professional. In 1990, Daly won South African Sunshine Tour Pro; he has also won the Ben Hogan Utah Classic. In total, the golfer has 18 Professional wins to his name.
Daly has battled with both drinking and gambling problems both causing him a lot professionally and in his love life as well. He opened up in his autobiography John Daly: My Life in and out of the Rough-in 2006, that gambling cost him a loss of $55million.
John Daly Spouse (Wife) and Girlfriend
John Dale is notorious for marrying and divorcing his wives. Following his proposal to his fifth wife, it was said that he will soon have as many wives as he wins.
Dale Crafton was Long John’s first wife. They got married in 1987 and stayed married for just three years. The bone of contention was John wanting to go for the PGA Tour and Crafton choosing for them to live in Blytheville, Arkansas, her hometown.
In 1992, he married Bettye Fulford. However, some months later, he was reported to have thrown her into a wall in their Denver home and this led to their divorce in 1995.
His love shifted almost immediately to Paulette Dean, a 20-year old model, and they got married that same year (1995). But in 1999, they got divorced.
Sherrie Miller, a 25-year-old car Saleswoman, came into the picture when he married her on 29th July 2001. This marriage only lasted till 2007.
His fifth love interest seems to be the real deal as they dated from 2007 to 2014 before the big question got popped. Daly asserted that Anna Cladakis brought a lot of positivity into his life. Cladakis is a promotional director for Hooters, a mom to Charitsa, a daughter she had with an ex-lover, Chris T. Sullivan. It is unclear if the lovers have tied the knot but as at May 2017, they were still engaged.
His Son and Daughters
Daly has only one son from his fourth wife, Sherrie Miller. John Patrick Daly II took after his father’s love for golf and began playing at a very tender age also. In December 2016 at age 13, Little John as he is now popularly called, played with Long John in the PNC Father/son challenge and was able to show off a ton of impressive skills on the golf course and a high dose of swagger.
In December 2017, he won the International Junior Golf Tournament. He also has several other games and wins to his name.
There is a high expectation from this high school freshman who is the only member of his class (class of 2021) to come top 30 in the 36-man tournament with competitors from all over the world.
Daly’s first daughter Shynah Hale Daly was born to Daly and his second wife, Bettye Fulford, on June 10, 1992. Daly got his second daughter, Sierra, with his third wife, Paulette Dean, in 1995.
Net Worth – How Rich Is John Daly?
His net worth is estimated at $65 million, raked from his Golf wins, music career, book, and involvements in games including John Daly’s Prostroke Golf, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC video games. Apart from his handful of endorsement deals, he also owns a clothing line and a golf design company.
Height and Other Facts
Height: 1.8 m
Weight: 98 kg
Birth sign: Taurus
Father: Jim Daly
Mother: Lou Daly
Nationality: American
Religion: Christianity
Political affiliation: Republican
