What the heck is going on with John Daly?

The one thing that us golf writer folks know is that there is a short list that brings the views to a golf story; Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Michelle Wie and John Daly. Yes, the 46-year-old Daly is still one to make newspapers fly off the shelves, and in the past it was mainly because he was a human craps game, sometimes allowing the golf fans to get a seven but mostly being a combination of snake eyes and box cars.

Daly, however, is having one heck of a good season in 2012 even if nobody seems to be noticing. In six starts on the PGA Tour, Daly has made five cuts including a T-12 at last week's Greenbrier Classic, closing with a 5-under 65 to jump 21 spots on the leader board. His T-12 comes nearly a month after his last start on tour, when Daly finished T-19 at the St. Jude where he again had a solid finish with a 64.

So what is happening with Daly this season? As it is with most golfers, Daly seems to have found a putting stroke he can really live with. On tour this season, Daly is fifth in strokes gained with his putting, and is 26th on scoring average with a nice 70.16 average (better than Steve Stricker and Rickie Fowler, mind you).

Sure, he's only played six events, but if he can keep this momentum going, he will most likely wrap up a PGA Tour card for 2013 (he's 158th on the money list despite the fact that nearly everyone around the 125 mark has played in almost triple the events).

One reason Daly might be playing better is simply the pressure isn't really that high. At 46, Daly is counting the days until life's ultimate mulligan comes along with the Champions Tour that will welcome the ticket-selling Daly with open arms. When he turns 50, he will surely be a draw at those events the same way Fred Couples was when he made the switch, mainly because he can still boom the golf ball off the tee (13th on tour in driving distance) and fans still love to see him out there competing.

Mostly, it looks like the guy is having fun. Just check his Twitter account these days and it's full of well wishes from fans and thanks to anyone that has a good thing to say about him. Golf is all about being "in a good place," and it seems right now, Daly is right there.

This week, Daly will be in the field at the John Deere Classic. Could you think of a better place, and sponsor, for Daly to get his sixth win of his career? I sure couldn't.