Daly Falls Short in Niagara
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT. — John Daly hit the wall in more ways than one yesterday as Niagara Falls roared back in his face.
The popular PGA Tour professional gave it his best shots with his Dunlop LoCo driver, but at the end of the day he failed in his attempt to become the first person to drive a ball across the world famous falls from Canada to the United States.
The fun-loving 39-year-old, who is known for living on the wild side at times as a gambler and drinker, put on a great show for about 5,000 people who gathered at Table Rock to see the Guinness Book of World Records attempt.
The fun-loving 39-year-old, who is known for living on the wild side at times as a gambler and drinker, put on a great show for about 5,000 people who gathered at Table Rock to see the Guinness Book of World Records attempt.
Hitting monster shots from a raised platform overlooking the falls, Daly smashed out 20 drives and when Sportsnet television commentator John Gordon reported that they heard something hit the rock face wall on the U.S. side there was a big cheer from the crowd, but that was as close as the golfer would come.
I think the balls hit the mist and would just fall to the river,” Daly said of the drives that he tried to launch some 344 yards to reach the edge of Goat Island in the United States.
While the rainbow over the falls was a bonus, the heavy, wet mist that rose from the bottom of the gorge was more than Daly could handle.
“I could see the ball, but once it got to the mist it disappeared. I hit eight of them as good as I can hit them but they just seemed to hit a wall.”
Daly’s best drive on the PGA Tour this year is 399 yards, so clearing the falls wasn’t out of the question.
Back in 1990, he successfully hit a shot some 310 yards over the Grand Canyon using a 1-iron.
“The people here are terrific. It’s like being at a PGA Tour event. It was like coming down the home stretch winning a PGA Tour event,” said Daly.
The golfer was in Niagara Falls for the day to promote his new golf course, Thundering Waters, which will open in September.
Some fans were left disappointed because Daly used only one of the two platforms that had been set up at different angles for the stunt.
“It’s terrible, he should have hit at least a couple of shots from the other one,” one disgruntled spectator said.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see John Daly up close,” said Matt O’Brien who drove from St. Catharines to watch his hero.
“The first golf tournament I ever really watched from start to finish was the 1995 British Open when he won it, so it’s great to see him here. It’s a great thing for Niagara Falls.”
Earlier in the day, Daly experienced a thrill that nobody would want to experience, as the helicopter in which he was flying encountered technical difficulties as he flew over his new course.
“The warning light came on and I said ‘down.’ The helicopter kept going right and we just kept going further from the falls,” Daly said of the incident.
On a happier note, Daly took part in a Parade of Hope fundraiser through the streets of Niagara Falls, which raised $12,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Niagara Falls.”