‘J.D. Brings Huge Galleries Everywhere He Goes’: Tiger Woods Was Once Left Flabbergasted by the Immense Fan Following of John Daly

Now in the autumn of their golf careers, John Daly and Tiger Woods were once two emerging stars conquering everything in their way in the late 90s and early 2000s. The pair were young and stalwarts in their own right, but also amassed a loyal fanbase. However, Woods was once left flabbergasted by the adherent following Daly, which left him “half deaf”.

What did Tiger Woods say about John Daly’s following?

The incident occurred at the 2005 American Express Championship in Harding Park, California. Woods and Daly went toe-to-toe with a magnificent display that left everybody else catching their breaths. The two eventually finished level and had to contest in a playoff round.

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While parking their golf carts near the gallery, Woods was welcomed with a loud blast of cheers from the fans. The 15-time Major Champion later revealed that the pompous gesture left him deaf for a moment. “When we were taking the carts back to the tee, I couldn’t hear anything,” Woods said.

“In my left ear, I’m half deaf, people whistling and screaming, and then my right ear, I’m half deaf. It was electric, it was loud, people were really into it. J.D. brings huge galleries everywhere he goes.”

So who won in the playoff between Woods and Daly?

For large parts of the week, the gallery was filled up with either Woods’ or Daly’s fans. The latter was initially leading the event, leading his closest challenger by three holes until the ninth hole in the final round.

Woods held the advantage of playing one group in front of Daly, scoring birdies in consecutive holes to increase the pressure on the leader. The pair eventually shared the lead after Woods birdied on the 16th and Daly bogeyed his 17th hole.

A first-round par from both golfers was followed up by a 3-foot sitter from Daly to hand over the crown to Woods. It was a year of misses from putts for the ‘Wild Thing’, while Woods claimed his sixth PGA Tour victory of that year, alongside the Masters and the Open Championship.

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