big john daly to play irish open

tom francy

http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/daly-puts-irish-open-on-schedule-1706059.html

watch out photographers.....

Trampas

Doesn't say how much he is getting paid to turn up.

I wouldn't be buying weekend tickets expecting him to be there.

conno16

sure harro, rory and 'gmac' will be there anyways :rolleyes:

anyone reckon harro and big john daly will be hittin the boozer together for the week afterwards?
good chance there'll be a portable hooters set up in baltray for the competition as well
its all good

thegen

conno16 wrote: »

sure harro, rory and 'gmac' will be there anyways :rolleyes:

anyone reckon harro and big john daly will be hittin the boozer together for the week afterwards?
good chance there'll be a portable hooters set up in baltray for the competition as well
its all good

Why the use of sarcasm?

soundsham

+1 on the dumbass sarcasm

give the man a break,

he has won 2 majors, maybe a while back but dont forget it was a british open on a links,so he's got the imagination

also just for the hell of seeing the guy melt a few drives

sponsors should be applauded hopefully he will help raise the profile and attendance to an event that almost died.......

fullstop

I was there the last time he played at the Irish Open and I'll go again this year, he's great to watch.

PhilipMarlowe

conno, as my kids would say... "zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket".
John Daly should still be a 'draw' and a positive for the event.

ShriekingSheet

Absolutely. I mean, look at the Masters model last week. A reasonable percentage of the field were guys who were never gonna actually challenge, but were spectacles in themselves.

They know that paying punters don't just want to see the current best guys go low. Having old favorites and a couple of characters known as much for their personality as their golf around the course adds an extra layer of entertainment which, after all, is what it is.

Bovered

You are all missing the point.

JD is banned from playing in the US. That is why he is over here playing in Europe. He is not getting paid anything to appear. He was selling hats outside the masters last week.

I know something, I'll be there to watch the big man pounding the driver.

thegen

Bovered wrote: »

You are all missing the point.

JD is banned from playing in the US. That is why he is over here playing in Europe. He is not getting paid anything to appear. He was selling hats outside the masters last week.

I know something, I'll be there to watch the big man pounding the driver.

You forgot to mention the money raised from selling Daly Memrobilia outside the masters is going to a charity he set up.

And no we are not missing the point. The use of sarcasm was uncalled for. He is a man fighting his demons and probably going to lose the fight. I hope we all get to see more than him booming big drives as his short game in its prime was second to none.

Best of luck John. Mos people that will be there will be rooting for you with a few exceptions. Not you Bovered, aimed at previous poster

Bovered

thegen wrote: »

The use of sarcasm was uncalled for.

There was no sarcasm in my post, pal.

I'll be hoping the big man takes the title. Seen him in Druids back in 99, some striker.

ShriekingSheet

Bovered wrote: »

There was no sarcasm in my post, pal.

I'll be hoping the big man takes the title. Seen him in Druids back in 99, some striker.

He was refering to sarcasm in another post. Not yours.

thegen

Bovered wrote: »

There was no sarcasm in my post, pal.

I'll be hoping the big man takes the title. Seen him in Druids back in 99, some striker.

As pointed out by Sheet the use of sarcasm was in a previous post.

BUACHAILL

everything he touches turns to an argument and still he is allowed continue
getting very frustrating

whatawaster

conno16 wrote: »

sure harro, rory and 'gmac' will be there anyways :rolleyes:

anyone reckon harro and big john daly will be hittin the boozer together for the week afterwards?
good chance there'll be a portable hooters set up in baltray for the competition as well
its all good

who the f*ck is Harro?

The_Kew_Tour

Remember when in Druids Glen in 1997 and tickets were like gold dust then im afraid its not the case now..

The Irish open was big up to about 4-5 years ago it seems to have lost the imagination of the public eye for some reason which is pity.

brian076

adrian280582 wrote: »

Remember when in Druids Glen in 1997 and tickets were like gold dust then im afraid its not the case now..

The Irish open was big up to about 4-5 years ago it seems to have lost the imagination of the public eye for some reason which is pity.

I think that can probably be said for the European & American Tours in general. Maybe the race to Dubai will generate more interest later in the year but overall I don't think there's as much interest as there used to be.

The fact that a lot of the tournaments early in the year are held in Asia probably doesn't help, but even on the American Tour, if Tiger isn't playing there just doesn't seem to be that much interest, and i think the ratings prove this.

There's no great entertainment watching the likes of JB Holmes or Kenny Perry plod their way around the golf course.

Mister Sifter

I do think McIlroy will pull the crowds in this year though. In fact, you've got Harrington , McIlroy and Daly who people will flock to see.

I'd say at least one person will be attracted by Andrew Coltart being there too...

ShriekingSheet

brian076 wrote: »

if Tiger isn't playing there just doesn't seem to be that much interest, and i think the ratings prove this.
.

Yes, it's an insane figure, something like 80% in the ratings difference. But the Tours had mass appeal long before Tiger Woods.

In the Irish Open's case, if I had to guess I'd say that while there's been a big boom in golf in Ireland over the last 10 years, we were starting from a high base. Other, larger countries had relatively less interest in golf and the boom has been much more noticable.

As such, Tour events in these countries such as France, Germany and Spain, as well as the new and very lucrative destinations of the European Tour have really been pumped up in terms of sponsorship & coverage, and therefore prizemoney, and therfore quality of players, and therefore prestige & esteem among punters (be they at the venue or watching on tv).

The Irish Open on the other hand, traditionally always had a large purse, good sponsorship and therefore a great field and ticket sales. But because the same injection hasn't happened in Ireland, it's stood still when other events have shot up the priority list.

Golf used to be quite exclusive to a cluster of countries such as Ireland, Scotland, dem accross da watar and the U.S. The European Tour relied on major areas of golfing interest such as Ireland for it's big Opens. Now the area of interest has spread.

If the U.S. adopted Gaelic Football as it's #3 sport in the morning, and a chunk of Ireland's best players went there instead of playing here, the All Ireland Final would be dented just as much.

BombSquad

No interest in seeing John Daly at all. Anyone know if Alvaro Quiros is playing? Wouldn't mind seeing him striking a few...

rafared

Personally I'd love to see Big John play. Theres no doubt he has realy fallen off the rails lately but give the man some respect. He has won 2 majors and thats more than most tour players will ever win. I was at the last open in Baltray and followed Harrington for a while, he was boring to watch and took an eternity over even the smallest of putts but it was enjoyable just to watch him up close for a few holes.

copacetic

Feel sorry for Daly, but he really wasted his talent. Seeing him pitched up in the car park across the road from Augusta selling t-shirts and framed pictures was an eye opener.

Flan45

The Irish Open on the other hand, traditionally always had a large purse, good sponsorship and therefore a great field and ticket sales. But because the same injection hasn't happened in Ireland, it's stood still when other events have shot up the priority list.

I think it's had a lot to do with the tour schedule also. It had a much more favourable time slot in the good ol' days.

Trampas

I think Flan is right the slot the Irish Open has been giving over the recent years have been poor.

A lot of big tourneys around it and the pro's would use this week as a rest instead playing 4 weeks straight.

Spanish and Italian Open are before it and wentworth week after it is good I think.

Pros might use it for a warm up for Wentworth.

I would rather see it a week or two before The Open especially on a links this year.

WHIP IT!

Graeme1982 wrote: »

I do think McIlroy will pull the crowds in this year though. In fact, you've got Harrington , McIlroy and Daly who people will flock to see.

I'd say at least one person will be attracted by Andrew Coltart being there too...

His Ma'??? :pac:

Johnnyjump

Didn't even know that John Daly was still on the circuit!

Mister Sifter

WHIP IT! wrote: »

His Ma'??? :pac:

Are you alleging that i fornicated with his father and somehow managed to give birth to him?! Who told you...?

WHIP IT!

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Are you alleging that i fornicated with his father and somehow managed to give birth to him?! Who told you...?

No, I'm suggesting you sh*gged him! :pac: