Daly: Plan to pick me back-fired

John Daly has spoken out about his exclusion from America’s Ryder Cup team, saying the public and press campaign to get him a debut next month probably cost him one.

The controversial former USPGA and Open champion is still waiting to play in the match 13 years after his first major and after a season when he has shown a real return to form. Captain Hal Sutton selected Stewart Cink and 50-year-old Jay Haas instead.

“There was some talk on the Golf Channel that ‘John does not fit the mould of team golf’, but I think I would be a great team player,” said Daly after an opening 67 in the BMW International Open in Munich put him only behind leader Retief Goosen.

“I thought I did well in the Dunhill Cup for the US (he played three times at St Andrews). I thank the media and fans for kind of pushing Hal to pick me, but I think it kind of annoyed him, I really do.

“And then he comes out saying it is not a personality contest. I think that pressuring Hal like that, he might have just turned away from it..I never asked him or talked to him about it. I am just not that way.”

Recovering alcoholic Daly won the USPGA title in 1991 but the following day was left out by Dave Stockton and a month after his Open victory at St Andrews Lanny Wadkins chose not to have him on his line-up.

He won the BMW title in 2001 and this year had his first US Tour success for nine years, beating England’s Luke Donald in a play-off.

Daly reckons Scott Verplank would have been a better choice than Haas, whose last win was 11 years ago and who on his last appearance in the match in 1995 lost to Philip Walton in the all-important singles.