Daly rips former coach Harmon, blames him for personal problems

SOUTHPORT, England -- John Daly has raised the eyebrows and blood pressure of other players, fans and plenty of tour officials over the years with his antics and actions.

At the British Open on Wednesday, he did it with his mouth.

Daly ripped former coach Butch Harmon, blaming the popular swing guru for creating many of his personal issues over the past few months, including an inability to land sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour.

Daly, who has struggled through physical injuries of late and battled alcoholism over the years, called Harmon a liar and then questioned the coach's manhood before leaving to play his first practice round of the week at Royal Birkdale.

Even for somebody as reckless as Daly -- who was videotaped hitting a golf ball off a beer can three weeks ago during the pro-am at the Buick Open and playing barefoot and shirtless during a course opening a few weeks earlier -- it was a jaw-dropping display of poor judgment.

"He needs to stay as far away from me as he possibly can," Daly said evenly.

The broadening rift stems from a series of March events that, sadly for Daly, weren't anything especially unusual. During a rain delay in the first round of the Tampa event in March, Daly ducked into a Hooters hospitality area and emerged with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden as his caddie. Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen was also in the tent, Daly said.

Daly about Harmon: 'I think his lies kind of destroyed my life for a little bit.' (Getty Images)

Two days later, after Daly missed the cut, he spent several hours at the Hooters party zone, which was adjacent to the course, hoisting beers and making crude comments that were posted on the website of the Tampa Tribune newspaper.

Harmon, who says he lost a job and ruined a marriage in the early 1980s because of drinking and gambling problems and speaks from experience on issues of denial and excess, quickly dropped Daly as a client, saying the two-time major champion winner needed to sober up and start looking inwardly to solve his problems.

He publicly criticized Daly for using an amateur as a caddie during live play at a professional event and for his continued inability to stop drinking. Daly, 42, said the coach's harsh comments caused doors to close.

"I think his lies kind of destroyed my life for a little bit, the lies that he said about being at the Hooters tent and all this stuff," Daly said. "I think if he would become a man and talk about some of the stuff he lied about, when we were doing charity work that week when I just missed the cut."

Daly said he was asked by Tampa tournament officials if he wouldn't mind visiting the Hooters hospitality area on Saturday to sign some autographs. But that wasn't at the crux of Harmon's point -- Daly shouldn't be hanging around those types of temptation, period. Beer was flowing freely in the hospitality area and Daly admitted he was drinking.

"For me, I think you just consider the source," Harmon said Wednesday after Daly's comments were relayed to him on the Birkdale driving range. "I feel bad for John. I like John. A lot of people like John. But I think John has a lot personal problems and a lot of demons in his body.