What’s the first image that comes to mind when someone says John Daly‘s name? Probably an image of a man who seems permanently attached to a Diet Coke and a cigarette. Daly has spent decades as golf’s most unfiltered character and has never been the type to shy away from the spotlight. It’s made most people question whether he actually lives this way, or he leans into this character, fully aware the world is watching. But the truth is even more fascinating.

In a recent episode of The Vanity Index podcast, host Wells Adams finally popped the question that most of us have wanted to know the answer to. “Here’s my question to you about John Daly. I’ve met him a couple [of] times…And I wonder, you know, like he’s like the drinking, smoking, partying, musician, like an ultra athlete that kinda doesn’t give a sh*t. I wonder if he leans into it more than it really is…” Adams was hinting at whether Daly was pretending to be who he is. 

But his co-host Chad Mumm immediately shut that theory down. “I think it’s just totally who he is…” Mumm began. “Yeah. I don’t think so. I’ve spent enough time around him. I think he’s that’s just who he is. I think he just doesn’t care. I think he truly doesn’t care. He doesn’t care what people think of him. I think it’s weird. He’s like completely comfortable in his own skin. He feels no pressure from anybody,” Mumm doubled down, when Adams pressed again. 

Chad Mumm remembered the time he spent with Daly and recalled that he wasn’t drunk, but “he just smoked a ton of cigarettes and drank probably like eight Diet Cokes.” Mumm wasn’t just defending Daly’s authenticity, but he illustrated all the time he has spent with him.

And the more time he spent around him, the more it became clear that John Daly’s persona wasn’t a performance. He was just being himself. For Chad Mumm, it was evident that what stood out the most was that John Daly “just doesn’t really care what you think.” 

But this revelation from Mumm comes around a time when we all know Daly has been wrestling with a brutal streak of health problems for years. It started with the bladder cancer that blindsided him in 2020, after he began vomiting and urinating blood. “I thought it was just my back,” he later admitted. The cancer was caught early, treated, and he’s been in remission since. But the diagnosis cracked open a door to a long, punishing corridor of surgeries, 16 in total, plus two knee replacements, tendon repair, and an everyday battle with type 2 diabetes.

But his lifestyle isn’t pretty either. Daly once estimated smoking 18,000 cigarettes a year and washing them down with 515 gallons of Diet Coke, nearly 2,000 litres, while drinking almost no water, as per reports. After his cancer surgery, he said, “There’s an 85% chance it comes back… luckily for me, they caught it early… I’m cutting way, way back on the Diet Coke and counting minutes before I can have a cigarette. I’m trying to quit smoking.”

John Daly’s lived the consequences, and yet he just doesn’t care about what people think of him or his lifestyle. Whether that’s admirable or alarming depends on how people perceive it. However, Mumm did point out that Daly’s son, John Daly II, is nothing like his father.

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John Daly’s son is nothing like him

If John Daly built his name living loudly, his son seems to be quietly creating a legacy built on discipline. Chad Mumm said it out loud on the same episode of the Vanity Index Podcast.

“He cares a lot about his son, his family. His son is the polar opposite of him. You know, little John is like he’s a fifth-year senior at Arkansas. Took a pretty deep run at the US Amateur this summer… But apparently, he’s the opposite of his dad. You know, he’s like a hardcore Christian kid, really wants to do well, and like is way more focused and cares about his health, and you know, he’s on a fitness plan and doesn’t drink and all that.”

And it shows. While John Daly is going through life with Diet Cokes and cigarettes, his son is carving out a reputation for an incredible work ethic. And that dedication has been visible through his results. The 2025 Southern Amateur Champion has stacked up a résumé that is impressive to say the least.

He’s a fifth-year senior at Arkansas, a Ben Hogan Award finalist, the July 2025 Golfer of the Month, and a 2025 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist. He’s led the Razorbacks with a 72.21 scoring average, earned his first collegiate win at the Columbia Spring Invitational, and claimed SEC co-Golfer of the Week honors.

Recently, he achieved more success, winning the 2025 Blessings Collegiate Invitational at 3-under par, pushing him to No. 61 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, well ahead of Mason Howell at No. 130. He may not live anything like his dad, but he carries the same spark, the same talent, and the same ability to rise when it matters.