John Daly points the finger elsewhere for losing his Hooters, 84 Lumber sponsorships

John Daly shot a 69 in the opening round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Thursday, tying him for 14th.

But watching Daly’s sound bite tonight on the Golf Channel was quite sad. He blamed his poor recent play and loss of sponsors not on his drinking, gambling or personal life.

Instead, he continues to point to the rib injury he suffered last year at the Honda Classic, when a woman snapped a camera in his backswing. He tried to halt his swing and pulled a muscle in the process.

According to the Golf Channel package that was on tonight, Daly has made less than $10,000 in four events this year, and Hooters and 84 Lumber no longer grace his bag and shirt. Either these sponsors are fed up with endorsing a sad story, or maybe they are hoping to send Daly a message by not endorsing his poor behavior, especially of late.

Daly is going as far as saying he may sue the golf course, PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, which hosted the Honda Classic.

“I’ve never seen so many cameras in my life, that was brutal. They need to protect the players better.”

He added:

“It cost me my career and my sponsors.”

Daly’s drinking and gambling problems seem to have given him a serious case of denial. Sponsors didn’t drop him because of his poor play (Michelle Wie is still collecting paychecks from Nike, Sony, etc. right?). He was probably dropped because he looks terrible on TV and they’re sick of funding his vices. They may as well pump the cash into Harrah’s and Anheuser-Busch stock and get some better returns.

If Daly ends up suing PGA National, it won’t be because they are to blame, but because he is broke.

On a lighter note, another telling sound bite tonight was Sergio Garcia. He’s still blaming God for his poor play. Remember the British Open after he cited “outside forces” rooting against him? Today he’s talking about how wind makes golf a game of luck.

“It’s about guessing right. You can be hitting the right shot but the wind can make it look silly,” he said.

Just like roulette, I guess. Clearly Sergio is still pointing to the Man Above instead of the man inside.