The Open Diary: Another disappearing act from John Daly

DISAPPEARING: USA's John Daly on the 1st during day one of The Open at Royal Troon. Photo credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

John Daly always makes his presence felt, fleeting though it tends to be. The 1991 US PGA and 1995 Open champion rocked up to Ayrshire this week with his ZZ Top beard, smoking his ciggies and sporting the most garish of Tartan shorts before signing for an opening 82.

‘Wild Thing’ lived up to his nickname with seven bogeys and a quadruple eight on the closing hole. There was ne’er a birdie to be spotted. Then it was announced early on Friday morning that he had withdrawn from the championship with a knee injury.

That’s the sixth time he has called time early on a major, the first all the way back at the 1997 US Open, and it adds another layer to an extraordinary CV with those two titles counterbalanced by a roll call of winces.

He has just one other top ten to his name, at the 1993 Masters. In 78 major appearances, Daly has also missed 41 cuts. The last time he made any meaningful mark was with a tie for 18th at the 2012 PGA at Kiawah Island.

Now 58, the Californian’s Open exemption will end once he turns 60 so it won’t be long before his presence at the majors is squeezed into that RV he parks up outside Hooters in Augusta, Georgia during the Masters.

Going, going, gone?

One of Royal Troon’s oldest and most familiar landmarks is up for sale. No, it’s not the majestic clubhouse designed by Edward Clifford and built in 1866. And it’s not a slice of the famous Old Course either.

The piece of property hitting the market is part of the famous oddity that is the ‘house on the course’, a lived-in residence built 250 years ago that provides a bird’s eye view of the 2nd, 3rd, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.

The house has actually been split into two so it is one of these two semi-Ds that has been put up for sale through estate agents Strutt & Parker. It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and four – four! – “reception” rooms.

Blackrock House, as it is known, is changing hands for the first time in 30 years. The guide price for a property that sits maybe a nifty wedge from the shore and boasts a stunning view across the Firth of Clyde? A cool £1.5m.

Or one week's rental the next time the Open comes to Troon, probably.

No detail too small at the Open

Never underestimate the levels of detail or geekery to which golf can go. Players can wax lyrical about the most minute of tweaks to their swings and their clubs, and the same applies to the vast acreages that serve as their canvases.

Each round at this Open is prefaced by numbers detailing the exact length of fairways and greens - the former cut on Friday at 10mm, whatever that means - with information on green speeds and firmness disseminated before the first group approaches the opening tee.

The course was actually playing close to 100 yards shorter than the full 7,385 second time around thanks to changed tee markings. Managing all this is an army of people under Billy McLachlan who is on hand as course manager for the sixth time at Royal Troon.

McLachlan has a permanent green staff of 22 people looking after 36 holes here. The number of green staff for The Open expands to 37. That includes nine greenkeepers from other Open venues, two apprentices and others from local clubs.