John Daly made his PGA Champions Tour debut one year ago, in the Insperity Invitational. Many observers would have expected the five-time regular tour champion (including two majors, the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 British Open) to make a fairly immediate mark after turning 50, even though his most recent victory had been as far back as the 2004 Buick Invitational.
It wasn’t to be, however, with his breakthrough win eventually coming in his 22nd start and one year later, in the same tournament, the Insperity at The Woodlands in Texas. Daly shot a final-round three-under 69 to finish 14-under and win by one shot over Tommy Armour III and Kenny Perry (Miguel Ángel Jímenez, who won on his Champions debut in 2014, finished joint seventh, six shots back).
“It’s just awesome," said Daly, who wore pants in the style of the American flag on Sunday. "I want to let all my sponsors know that I love them and thank them for everything.
“These finishing holes are so hard. I didn’t hit the irons very good these last two days. I drove the ball tremendously with my Vertical Groove driver. And I putted so good. I just kind of hung in there and did the best I could. It wasn’t pretty at the end, but I got it done. That’s all that matters.
"Some guys come out here and win right off the bat, get the monkey off their back, but now I can say I'm a champion on the PGA Tour Champions. It's really cool and hopefully I can keep this confidence going."
Daly’s previous best finish on the tour had been joint 11th at last year’s DICK’S Sporting Goods Open.
