Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

THE TIGER Woods 'Express' is rattling along the golf tracks at a record-breaking pace.

Five PGA tournaments won in a row, and counting. It's not inconceivable that this year could be the one where he attains true immortal status by winning the grand slam of majors as he's playing on a different planet to all the other guys out there.

However, if you look back down those same tracks you'll see a derailed caboose and a story every bit as compelling as Tiger's.

If Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods stepped down from Mount Nike to redefine the game of golf and set new parameters of greatness, fellow multi-major-winning pro John Daly staggered out of the nearest pub with a fag in his mouth and said, 'so where's the course?'

With Tiger, we know we are witnessing greatness from an untouchable distance. With 'Long John', we are watching the bloke next door and we can easily identify with this overweight every-man who came from nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship and then stunned the world again in 1995 by claiming the British Open's claret jug at Royal St Andrews.

While Tiger lives in the rarefied air of the megastars, Daly lives next door to us.

He's had more marriages (three) than major victories, he's waging an ongoing battle against the bottle and, well not quite like us, he's says he dropped about $60 million gambling over the past 15 years.

Now, as Tiger soars to greater heights, Daly is sinking to new depths.

Dropped

The 5' 11", 280-plus pounder was dropped by legendary swing coach Butch Harmon in unceremonious fashion last week.

"The most important thing in Daly's life is getting drunk," Harmon blared in part disgust and part warning to the 41-year-old.

Daly also missed the Pro-Am at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Wednesday and was disqualified from the main draw. He apologised to Arnie, but his non-appearance put one of the most popular players on the tour in the bad books with his fellow pros because you just don't do that to Arnie.

To compound his woes, Daly no longer has full exemption status and if he doesn't start winning soon, he'll lose his tour card and most likely his career as one of the hardest tickets to get in the world is the one that allows you to play on the PGA Tour.

What would happen to him after that is anyone's guess. Maybe getting away from the limelight and the pressure of top-flight golf would be the best thing for him. Or maybe, it would just give his demons more time to work their evils.

Tiger's chase for glory will be must-see TV this year, but I'll also be keeping an eye out for the fat, white guy who's just trying to survive - much as you and I. Later ...

Feedback: tym.glaser@gleanerjm.com