Daly says night in jail 'unfortunate' but not a 'big deal'

"The picture looks like I'm drunk," he said. "I wasn't drunk when they took the picture. The picture people are seeing is me half-asleep."

The night in jail is the latest in a troubling trend for Daly this year. He has not had his PGA Tour card since his 2006, when his two-year exemption expired from his last victory, the Buick Invitational in 2004.

He has made only five cuts in 17 starts on the PGA Tour, his best finish a tie for 40th in the Viking Classic after rib surgery.

Daly hired swing coach Butch Harmon at the start of the year, but Harmon quit after a week in Tampa, Fla., when Daly spent a rain delay in a Hooters tent, then returned to play with Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden as his caddie.

A week later, he was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing his pro-am time.

Daly said he did not sign up for Q-school, instead wanting to earn his way back to the PGA Tour by playing well enough in Europe to reach the top 50 in the world ranking.

He currently is No. 774 in the world.

Daly played five European tour events this year, his best a tie for 23rd in the Italian Open.

He once had so many sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour that he had to turn some of them down. But after two years of poor play that Daly said was brought on by injuries, those exemptions are hard to find.

His endorsements are drying up, and Daly fears his sponsorship with Hooters could be the next to go.

"The world perceives that I passed out at Hooters, that I was thrown out at Hooters," he said. "I was asleep on the bus. I didn't pass out at Hooters. I've never had an incident at Hooters. I hate that their name is brought into it this way. They'll probably have to terminate me because of the negative publicity."

Meanwhile, Daly is looking for a place to play next year, with Europe his top consideration.

"He's looking at his options," said Bud Martin, his agent at SFX Sports. "In Europe, he's always enjoyed playing over there. I think he would be welcomed warmly by the European tour."

Daly said even if he could get into PGA Tour events, he could not play enough in a row to build confidence and momentum.

"If I can't get four or five in a row, it's not worth it for me to try to get those exemptions," he said. "I need to play three or four weeks to get into a rhythm. I'm not like Tiger. I can't play one week and win."

As for the fallout from his night of fun in North Carolina?

"Just tell my true fans that I love them," he said. "If they give up on me, I'll understand. But I've still got to play golf. I've still got to earn a living. I'm not sure I'll ever be back to where I was, but I'm going to keep trying."