Talk About Being Hard to Please . . .

John Daly had a monster drive on the second hole, a 555-yard par five, during Sunday’s final round of the Masters.

“That’s almost 400 yards,” a gallery control official said.

The official then asked Daly’s caddie how far he had to the hole and was told 164 yards, making his drive cover 391 yards.

Daly then brought another roar from the gallery when his approach landed one inch to the left of the cup and rolled back a little, leaving him an eight-inch tap-in for eagle.

After Daly marked his ball, there was a momentary hush, making it easy to hear Daly’s comment.

“Pulled it,” he said.

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Birthday boy: When Shaquille O’Neal turned 21 earlier in the season, the Orlando Sentinel asked its readers what they would like to give the rookie for his birthday.

Many of them suggested the ability to make free throws.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for the most consecutive free throws made?

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Hero worship: Cleveland center Brad Daugherty, an avid racing fan, wears No. 43 in honor of Richard Petty, whose car number was 43. It is as much for Petty’s personality as for winning races.

“I’ve never seen him tell anybody, ‘No,’ ” Daugherty told Mary Schmitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I don’t know how he does it. I try to sign autographs for everybody, but it seems like I’m always in a hurry. So I’ll tell someone ‘No’ sometimes.

“Then I’m with Richard, he’s being mobbed by a lot more people, and he’s signing for every one of them, plus taking the time to talk to them.”

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No Big Daddy: Phil Burgess of the National Dragster reports that there have been 992 four-second runs in drag racing since Eddie Hill did it first on April 9, 1988--but Don Garlits, the ultimate record-breaker a few years ago, does not have one, either as a driver or car owner.

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Strong hint: The last time the Clippers played the Golden State Warriors, Danny Manning wore a Warriors’ shirt under his game jersey, thereby fanning the rumors he might be leaving Los Angeles.

“Danny was basically chastised for the wearing the Warriors’ shirt,” agent Ron Grinker told Ric Bucher of the San Jose Mercury News, “but I think that was a pretty good message to Nellie (Warrior Coach Don Nelson) of what Danny thinks of him.”

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Moonlight madness: With a full moon overhead, two races at Vernon Downs finished in dead heats last Wednesday night. Pairs of horses crossed the finish line together in the first and seventh races at the track, about 30 miles east of Syracuse, N.Y. It had never happened before.

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Needs incentive: David Alan Grier, star of Fox-TV’s comedy “In Living Color,” after practicing for the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race next Saturday in Long Beach:

“All of the instruction with this event is great, but I still think I could drive faster if I had a police car chasing me.”

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No homework? Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun asks: “With so many high school basketball players going through life and death to score 700 on the SATs, facilitating their move to college ball, isn’t it rather counterproductive to have them parading around the country playing all-star games throughout April after a 35-game season?

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Trivia answer: Calvin Murphy of the Houston Rockets, 78.

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Quotebook: Gary Player, on bungee jumping: “There are no mulligans in that sport.”