‘Better Than Nicklaus’: John Daly Once Compared Himself With Tiger Woods and Other Golf Greats

Controversial golfer John Daly, who nowadays plies his trade in the PGA Tour Champions, said he was “really close” when compared to the talents of Tiger Woods on the Dan Patrick Show. A two-time Major Championship winner, Daly spoke on various topics on the podcast, which was recorded just a few days after his win at the Insperity Invitational in May 2017.

“I’m loose and fancy-free,” John Daly talks about his game

On the podcast, Daly opened up on his game style and likened it to players such as Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Fuzzy Zoeller. “I’m more of a Fuzzy Zoeller, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino type-of guy,” he said. “I’m loose and fancy-free.”

Daly also mentioned why he couldn’t be as successful as Tiger Woods, owing to his dedication and zeal not being on the same level as Woods. “I’m not going to go beat a hundred million balls”, he said. “I’m going to play a lot of golf and practice when I play…. I like to hit three or four golf shots on the hole.” He also mentioned that he wasn’t a range rat, and couldn’t spend a long time on the greens practicing his shots.

Daly compares himself to Tiger Woods

On the same podcast, Daly was asked about his experiences, on and off the field, with Tiger Woods. Patrick, initially a little hesitant, asked Daly if he had “more natural talent” than Tiger. After a moment’s silence, Daly responded with, “I don’t know I think we are really close on that.”

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He further added, “But I think his feel around the greens when he was winning all those tournaments was a lot better than anybody’s. You could almost say it was better than Nicklaus’….Tiger was always one to two, three, four steps ahead of me in this game.”

The 1995 Open Championship winner also mentioned the key attributes which made Tiger great. “His focus and mentality is probably one of the strongest I’ve ever seen in a golfer,” he added.

Since 2016, ‘Long John’ has continued to play in the PGA Tour Champions, and recently showed his desire to join the LIV Golf series, even ‘pleading’ to CEO Greg Norman to let him join.

Daly was also effusive in his praise for the current crop of players such as Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, comparing them to some of the greatest ever. What do you think? Do you think he’s up there with Tiger Woods and other greats? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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