The rain finally stopped falling at Coolum on Tuesday, but even the rare rays of subtropical sunshine couldn't change John Daly's disposition.
After missing the cut at last week's Australian Open, Daly admitted ahead of this week's Australian PGA Championship that he never had hit the ball so well for such meagre results.
The Australian PGA Championship joins the Australian Open and the Australian Masters in Australian golf's triple crown.
"My caddie said he has never seen anyone get more bad breaks hitting good shots than I did," Daly said of his results at the Australian Open.
His litany of bad luck included balls bouncing the wrong way off fairways and into thick rough. One approach at The Lakes in Sydney hit a sprinkler head and bounced 20 yards the wrong way.
Daly shot 69-77 and missed the Australian Open cut by one stroke.
"On the 17th, I hit a 4-iron and I'm thinking I hit it perfect, and it goes over the back," Daly said. "From what the fans said, it just got a horrible break and went up right against the collar in the rough. It's frustrating because you don't know what to work on when you are hitting it that good and not scoring."
Daly managed to save par on that hole, but four bogeys in the previous six holes gave him the weekend off, which he put to good use.
Before leaving Sydney, Daly made a stop at a charity event organized by New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell, with help from Australians Lucas Parsons and John Senden. It's called Streetworx, a charity for street kids in Sydney, and Daly did some commentating for the crowd and a clinic for young golfers before heading north to Queensland state for the Australian PGA.
"It's something that's dear to their hearts, and now it is dear to mine," Daly said. "The guy who started it was basically on the street, his mother had left him. It was a worthy cause and hopefully it will get bigger and bigger."
Daly hoped the sun kept shining later Tuesday when he planned to play nine practice holes. Due to the heavy rain over the past week, Wednesday's pro-am was in danger of being cancelled.
