It started with disciplinary action in 1991, followed by a string of fines beginning at the 1992 Players Championship, where John Daly and Mark Calcavecchia completed one of their rounds in two hours and three minutes. The PGA Tour later fined them for conduct unbecoming of a professional. Unfortunately for Daly, his career is littered with fines that would make Brooks Koepka’s look like a punitive affair.

As per The Florida Times-Union, Daly’s file, consisting of misdemeanors from his two decades on the PGA Tour, was handed to Morris Publishing’s lawyers under a court order after Daly sued Morris in 2005. It officially became a court file after Daly dropped the appeal in March 2009, following the summary judgment issued in favor of Morris, and was later ordered to pay Morris’ attorney fees. The file was released for public viewing in 2010 and consisted of 456 pages reciting everything Daly had done.

This file was not made public by the PGA Tour, as is the common misconception. That goes against the Tour’s policies. Following the file release, executive vice-president Ty Votaw said, “We turned the file over on a court order, but keeping with our policy we’re not going to comment. The fact that it is public record does not change that.”

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Regardless, what did the file reveal, in essence, you wonder?

During 18 years (1991 – 2008), the Tour suspended Daly five times, placed him on probation a total of six times, and cited him 11 times for “conduct unbecoming of a professional.” 21 times, he was cited for “failure to give best efforts,” and he was ordered by the PGA Tour seven times to seek counseling or enter alcohol rehabilitation centers.

In that span, he paid nearly $100,000 in fines to the PGA Tour, starting in 1991, when the PGA Tour said he swore at his playing partner during an event in Hattiesburg. Countless others followed him. Next…

Hit balls over the fans’ heads

Just two years later at the 1993 Fred Meyer Challenge in Portland, Ore hosted by Peter Jacobsen, John Daly was fined $30,000 for launching golf balls over the heads of the attending fans. He did it in a set of bleachers behind a practice area. Daly was bombing drives into the wind before telling the crowd, “I think I’ll hit one downwind,” and launching a shot over the grandstand.

It could have seriously hurt someone, the Tour reasoned, so he was fined the largest amount of his career. If adjusted for inflation, that amount could be approximately $70,000.

Fights with Jeff Roth and his dad

During a final round at Firestone Country Club in 1994, club pro and tournament participant Jeff Roth and his family members accused Daly of hitting into their group. That eventually resulted in name-calling on both sides, with Daly accused of directing profanities at Roth’s mother, Dolores Roth, and Adam Beach, Roth’s caddie.

After the round was completed, Roth confronted Daly in the clubhouse. When Roth left, Daly was heard screaming, as per the Florida Times-Union, “You can’t be me! You don’t know my life! You can’t live my life!” He then called Dolores Roth a derogatory name, with Roth’s father, Bob, replying in kind and getting into a physical altercation with him.

“We got in here, and my husband said, ‘Start doing some growing up,’ something like that,” said Dolores Roth. “That’s when my husband got mad. He’s 62, and he wanted to lay him out. Daly threw him to the ground and was beating up on him. The crowd kind of separated them. Caddies and people pulled them apart,” she said.

Though it lasted briefly, Daly was fined $20,000 (over $45,000 today) and was asked to take a leave of absence for the rest of the season.

Trashes his room at the Marriott Hotel

At the 1997 Players Championship, the cops were called to John Daly’s room at the Sawgrass Marriott Hotel after a loud crash. Daly had allegedly damaged furniture in the room. Later, the officer said, as per the New York Times, ”He complained of chest pains and was taken to the hospital.”

Daly then entered an alcohol rehabilitation program at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, for the second time in less than four years. He had first attended the Sierra Tucson Rehabilitation Facility in Catalina, Arizona, in 1993 after being ordered to do so by the PGA Tour. While withdrawing from the game, Daly said, “As part of my ongoing battle to overcome alcoholism, I have decided to immediately enter the Betty Ford Alcohol Rehabilitation Program.”

The then-PGA commissioner, Tim Finchem, fully supported the decision. Daly was also fined $5,000, which would be more than $10,000 today, and ordered to pay $1,500 in damages, now worth about $3,300.

Refuses to sign his scorecard

At the 2002 Australian PGA Championship, John Daly shot six-over par for a 78. He later became upset with an official ruling on penalty drop on the 13th hole and then hurled his putter into a lake on the 18th green. Still upset, he refused to sign his scorecard and was eventually fined $5,500 (nearly $10,000 today).

Daly was also asked to write an apology letter to the Australasian PGA Tour official he had verbally abused and his playing partners, Craig Parry and Greg Norman. Daly also later donated his golf bags and remaining clubs to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for future donation.

But Daly had a record of doing so. At the 1997 U.S. Open, he walked off the course without informing his partners. Five years before that, at the Australian Masters, he was disqualified for failing to sign his scorecard. A year before that, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect card.

Hits tee shot using a beer can

At the 2008 Buick Open, Daly hit a ball off a beer can offered by singer Kid Rock during the pro-am. It might have been fun and games for the two, but the PGA Tour eventually handed Daly a six-month suspension. Daly was deeply regretful, as per the Mirror.

“Is it fair that I got suspended? It’s not fair in reality, but it’s probably fair in perception. This is the lowest I’ve ever been.”

But it was about to get worse. Later that year, he was handed a six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine after reportedly being found intoxicated outside a restaurant. He also spent a night in jail.

Since then, Daly’s behavior has mellowed down a lot, but not completely ended. Like, back in 2012, he was fined an undisclosed amount at the UBS Hong Kong Open. Daly had thrown his putter into the trees after getting angry at fans using cameras.

But there have been some non-monetary compensations as well. For example, in the file, the Tour mentioned that Daly failed to give his best efforts during the tournaments.

One of the incidents mentioned was continually hitting his ball into the water at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Yes, it was where he scored 18 on a par-5 hole. Another event mentioned came at the 1999 U.S. Open, when, frustrated that he could not get his ball on the green, he hit a ball in motion.

Now, he plays on the Champions Tour and has largely become a fan-favorite. In fact, the file mentioned several fan letters, both against and for him.

As per Florida Times-Union, one fan wrote to former commissioner Deane Beman, “I’m disappointed the suspension is indefinite. Please reconsider and get John Daly back so many of us can get enthused about the PGA [Tour].”

Meanwhile, another wrote, “How long does it take for this young man to grow up and remember that thousands of young junior golfers are out there watching him make an a** of himself?”

There have been many such incidents that are not mentioned here, but still give Daly the bad-boy reputation.