The incident happened during the 2008 Australian Open when Daly lost control after he found Brad Clegg, a spectator, trying to take a close-up picture of him with a flash. The golfer then snatched the camera away and smashed it into a tree.
“You want it back?” Daly reportedly asked the spectator. “I’ll buy you a new one.” Notably, the tournament officials had prohibited cameras throughout the event, which the spectator had breached.
“I was looking to take a drop, and the camera was six inches away from my face,” Daly said. “If I was 10-under par, I would have felt the same,” he added. “My eyes are still burning from the flash of the camera.”
“He was frustrated,” the tournament official said about the incident. “And it’s an unfortunate incident.” He explained that since the spectator breached the rule to take the camera with him, he was wrong in the situation.
Brad Clegg also admitted his fault for taking photos standing too close to the golfer. The officials further added, “John, yes, he might have been at fault too, but we have to move on.”