Problem child Daly needs to be sent into tour timeout

My cup of tolerance has long since runneth over.

An accompanying Tampa Tribune photo essay features several shots of Daly mingling and mugging with fans, and also includes an audio component. In one portion, a fan is heard asking Daly if he's "four-deep" already, presumably meaning in beers consumed. "Yeah, four or five," Daly is heard to say, adding that he's just ordered another. It's unclear how much Daly inhaled during his stint at the beer garden, but that's not really the point, is it? We're talking about a guy who has spent time in rehab, lost millions because of gambling and burned through three wives, and while Finchem can't tell anybody how to live their life, he can most certainly dictate how they behave when representing the tour.

In seven starts this year, when in most instances he used a sponsor-exemption berth that would have been better awarded to a player who actually cares about the game's image, if not his own, Daly has earned a paltry $29,091. If Finchem is living in the real world and not just dealing in laughable wrist slaps, by the time the proverbial "undisclosed fine" for this violation of protocol is handed out, Daly should be swimming in red ink given his earnings total.

That's if Daly is sanctioned, mind you.

"With respect to disciplinary matters, if any, you know it is our long time policy not to comment one way or another," PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said in an e-mail Sunday when informed of the stories and photographs, which he indicated he planned to scrutinize.

The punitive hole in Daly's wallet should match the one in his head, since the Hooters episode Saturday was an encore of sorts. When thunderstorms caused a 2½-hour rain delay in the first round, Daly spent the time in the same beer garden. It's unclear what took place, but when play resumed, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden was serving as his caddie.

A caddie's role can be overrated, to be sure, but Gruden's appearance somewhat undermines the credibility of the event, since live play should not be treated as a joke. The Tribune sports section on Friday featured a photo not of first-round leader Bart Bryant, but of Daly and Gruden, trudging along, swingin' in the rain. Would Gruden let Daly call a few plays? Didn't think so.

Then again, Daly is being welcomed into events precisely because he's a public spectacle. So, the tournament officials who continue to welcome him with open arms get what they deserve: a circus in the beer tent with a golf tournament in the background. Daly completely invalidated the tournament's largesse with forgettable rounds of 78-80 to finish 16 over, second-to-last among those who completed the first two rounds.

But he created indelible memories, right? In the photo essay of the Hooters party area, Daly was in plenty of shots, carousing with fans, autographing a bent-over woman's backside, a beer cup always within arm's reach. It was called the "John Daly Slideshow," which means the paper misspelled the title by a letter.

Sideshow is more like it. By the way, Daly has inexplicably received another discretionary sponsor's berth into this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh are the headliners, so it's not like they need Daly as a drawing card. Daly has an ex-wife and daughter living in Orlando, so let's hope he tones it down a notch on the beer-'n'-belch front, if only for his family's sake.

Most places, they call this type of idiotic serial behavior "reality TV." By declining to disclose fines, suspensions or disciplinary actions taken against players, Finchem is complicit, too. You want to modify behavior? Paddle his butt in the public square and let it be known that this type of activity, in light of his past, is out of bounds for a purported professional.

Daly hasn't finished better than 60th all year. Last year, the King of Quit withdrew a tour-high six times, for various and often-dubious reasons. Since Daly clearly likes to sit on his ample posterior so often, let's cut to the chase. The commissioner should bench him until mid-summer and end the charade parade.

Finally, let's not forget Daly's most asinine aside. According to the story, a Tribune photographer was flipped off by Daly and mooned by a member of the player's entourage, an act that precipitated laughter at Daly's table.

Once again, Daly had it backward.

Actually, J.D., the biggest ass within view Saturday was you.