John Daly was born April 28, 1966 in Carmichael, California to Jim and Lou Daly. The Daly family moved around small towns in the southern states for most of John’s early life, but he began loving and learning golf at the age of 5. When John was 10 his family moved to Orange County, Virginia where he would learn to play at a golf course in Locust Grove. When he was just 13, John won the Spring Club Championship, defeating all the male members. The club quickly changed the rules, barring minors from entering the tournament henceforth.
In his high school years, John would be a letterman in golf and football, handling kicking and punting for Helias High. In 1983, John was the Missouri state champion with his high school golf team. That same year, he won the Missouri State Amateur Championship. John would follow that up by winning the 1984 Arkansas State Amateur Championship and would spend that summer befriending Rick Ross, a golf teaching professional. Ross would spend the next several years with John, improving and polishing John’s game.
Daly would attend Arkansas University from 1984 to 1987, on a golf scholarship. He butted heads with his coaches over his drinking problems and his infrequent attendance record. In 1986, John qualified for the U.S. Open, one of the four major championships in professional golf, as an amateur. Unfortunately, he missed the 36 hole cut with scores of 88 and 76. John would finish college without completing his degree and turned pro in 1987, quickly winning the Missouri Open that same year.
