John Daly is one of the most loved golfers of all time because he isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
He is not afraid to go against the grain and ruffle some feathers. Whether he’s backing President Trump, speaking out against issues on the PGA Tour, or something else, nothing bothers JD.
But there’s one interview that sums up his crazy life absolutely perfectly.
Dressed in a red, white, and blue jacket, he opens up about everything that’s gone on with 100% honesty. Topics include sex, golf, gambling, his childhood, and just about everything else.
Click here to watch some of the best clips from the epic interview.
Here are five hilarious takeaways from the candid interview with John.
Insane Amounts of Cigarettes and Soda
We all know John Daly has never been the model of health. But I didn’t think his bad habits were this destructive.
He said in his prime, he would have 18,000 cigarettes a year (about 2-3 packs per day) and drinks 515 gallons of diet coke per year. That’s 12-20+ diet cokes per day!
But as he made clear in the interview, he has no desire to stop smoking or get on the fitness bandwagon like other professional golfers.
John Plays His Best Golf Drunk
John once said, “If I could play the tour drunk, I would win every week.”
He backed that claim up in this interview and said whether it’s golf or pool, he’s better with the bottle. John even claimed that when he set course records, it was barefoot, drunk, and not worrying about his score.
After playing golf for quite some time, I can’t disagree here. I’ve often thought that drinking and golf is like a bell curve. For a while, as you’re getting buzzed, it’s easy to loosen up and play some good golf. The key is timing your buzz so you don’t have too many and lose all ability to focus (the downside of the curve).
Clearly, John was able to do that better than anyone and is confident he could beat the best players in the world after a few drinks.
Sex Helps His Golf Game
While John knows that a few drinks can help his game, he thinks sex is the other ingredient for success. As he said, “I always have, I’m somewhat of a nympho anyways.”
Later saying that sex helps him start the day with a positive attitude and makes golf easier.
John Lost 55 Million Gambling
When writing his book, he did the math and found out that he had lost over 50 million dollars gambling! He said in the interview that he thought it was “only” 20-25 million dollars and couldn’t believe the total was more than double.
During these casino visits, sometimes he would not leave the table (other than going to the bathroom) for 1-1.5 days. His favorite game was blackjack and he would play seven hands at once – with 10-15K per hand!
But despite losing an incredible amount of money, he doesn’t regret it at all. As he said in the interview, “People are going to tell me that I should regret it but I don’t. I had a lot of fun doing it.”
He then tried to justify that amount of money by saying it was over 16 years so it wasn’t so bad. Regardless, I love how honest he is and it sounds like he had a heck of time doing it. I couldn’t imagine playing at one of the tables alongside big JD.
He Turned Down A Million Dollars
While John loves the adrenaline rush that gambling brings, one thing he’ll never do is gamble on golf. In the interview, he describes a patron offering him one million dollars to tank the British Open. But for him, it was a firm no and told the person that he would never do it.
Ironically, he didn’t throw the round and instead, went on to win the Claret Jug. As he said, “You’re never going to get me to do that, with golf, there’s just too much integrity in the game.”
Sex, alcohol, cigarettes, and millions of dollars lost gambling, just another great interview with JD.
What’s your biggest takeaway from the Graham Bensinger interview with John Daly?
Let us know in the comments below!
Written by Michael Leonard
