Instead of Picking Up, Daly Has a Pick-Me-Upper

The newest edition of John Daly wears orange-tinted shades, for obvious reasons.

“They brighten the day up,” he said.

This is one guy who could use a few brighter days, all right. He came into the U.S. Open 24 over par in his last five rounds over three tournaments, and he hasn’t finished better than a tie for 51st since March.

Then he goes out and fires a nice little 68 at Pinehurst to end the first day one shot out of the lead.

If you can figure that one out, Daly would like to meet you.

“I’m in as much shock as everybody else is right now,” Daly said.

There was no clue Daly had it in him, not with his confidence so shaken that he’s working on a regular basis with sports psychologist Bob Rotella, whose job has been to patch Daly’s inspiration back together again.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Daly said. “He just basically loosens me up. I haven’t been having a lot of fun lately. It’s been a struggle.”

Daly’s fight against alcoholism has been well chronicled, and so has his battle against the depression that goes along with it. He said that shooting a 68 at the U.S. Open certainly helps him.

“It makes me believe in myself,” he said. “Something I haven’t done in a while.

“There’s a lot of days I would rather talk to somebody else about life and not practice. Sometimes I get down a little bit.”

After he birdied the first three holes, Daly was up a little bit. In fact, he was way up and even remained that way despite a horrific tee shot on No. 18. He hit his drive off a tree trunk, the ball traveling only about 80 yards, and bogeyed the hole.

Actually, Daly was relieved the ball hit the tree.

“It could have gone anywhere,” he said.

And so too could Daly, who began with a 69 in last year’s U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco and wound up tied for 53rd. Daly just hopes for the best in today’s second round, although he is hardly certain what to expect.

“The thing is with me, I don’t know who’s showing up tomorrow. It’s kind of scary.”

Until then, Daly promised to relax. He planned a quiet evening of six cheeseburgers, a bag of Oreos and a carton of milk, then watching sports highlights on TV. He said he hoped he would be on them.

THE DAILY DALY

News item: Speculation runs rampant that Callaway is considering dumping Daly.

Reaction: Not so fast.

Yes, Daly did accomplish a nonchalant six-putt on the last hole at the Memorial, finished with a 10 for an 82 and then withdrew after one round, but that did nothing to shake Ely Callaway’s position with his prime endorsee.

“We are not reviewing his contract,” said Callaway, who indicated two more years remain on Callaway’s endorsement agreement with the two-time major champion whose sometimes erratic behavior has detracted from his accomplishments.

“Sure, he’s had his little ups and downs, but it’s not affecting his contract or anything,” Callaway said.

“We would rather that [the six-putt] not happen, but it was a signal that he was a little bit agitated about something.”

Daly does not have a top-10 finish in 16 tournaments this year. Since the Honda Classic in March, he has either missed the cut or withdrawn in six of his last nine tournaments, including his last four.

LET THERE BE LIGHTS

David Toms got an early start Thursday . . . if you call getting up at 4 a.m. early, but that’s what Toms had to do because he was in the first threesome.

So how is it when you’ve got that terrific 6:30 a.m. tee time?

“It was dark, rainy and generally pretty foggy,” Toms said. “It felt like I was at Pebble Beach, only it was 30 degrees warmer.”

Toms went to the driving range when he got to the course, but he ran into trouble almost immediately.

“Ever tried hitting balls blindfolded?” he said. “I thought there might be lights, but then I remembered this is the U.S. Open and I guess they don’t do lights here.”

For the record, Toms needed only 4 hours and 2 minutes to finish with a 74.

SEE JACK NOT SEE

He had the 7:20 a.m. tee time, he was in the fifth group of the day and Jack Nicklaus had a big problem.

He couldn’t see. At least he couldn’t see very well, especially since it was raining his first four holes.

“I had my caddie [Scott Lubin] read the greens on my first three holes,” Nicklaus said.

At 59, Nicklaus began his 43rd U.S. Open with a 78--his worst opening round since he shot an 81 in 1970 at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn.

No, it wasn’t a good day at Pinehurst, Nicklaus said.

How bad was it?

“I didn’t drive the ball well, didn’t hit my irons well and didn’t putt very well,” he said. “Other than that, it was great.”

LET’S GET FISCAL

Paul Goydos, who opened with a three-under 67, used to be a substitute teacher in Long Beach, which followed a job working in a pro shop.

He was asked what prompted him to go into substitute teaching.

“Money,” Goydos answered.

FREQUENT WINNER

For what it’s worth, David Duval is the most frequent winner on the PGA Tour, based on his average of one victory every 11.8 starts, for players with a minimum of 100 starts. That’s figured on Duval’s 11 wins in 130 starts.

Second is Phil Mickelson, who averages a victory every 13.5 starts (13 victories, 175 starts. The rest of the top five include Greg Norman at 14.6 (18 wins, 263 starts), Tom Watson at 16.6 (34 wins, 564 starts) and Nick Price at 22.0 (16 wins, 352 starts).

MY DOG ATE THEM

Dodie Maier, who works in the ticket will-call department at the U.S. Open, says someone showed up without a ticket, but with a terrific story.

“He said he was helping a friend bring a boat up out of the water and his wallet fell into the Atlantic Ocean with his tickets in it,” Maier said.

You have to admit, including a terrific detail like the Atlantic Ocean and pushing an emotional button like helping a friend give the story heft, but it didn’t work on Maier--she turned the matter over to the USGA.

GONE LOGO

You might have noticed the same logo on the caddies’ caps at the Open. It’s a Q Comm logo, representing the company that is providing prepaid phone cards to the 1,360 members of the Professional Caddies Assn., in exchange for the caddies wearing the logos on their caps.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Carrie Leary, UCLA’s new women’s golf coach, was a walk-on player at UCLA who earned a scholarship after her freshman year and wound up helping the Bruins win the 1991 NCAA championship.

Leary, 28, has been women’s golf coach at Cal State Northridge for three years and was the 1998-99 Big Sky coach of the year. She succeeds Jackie Tobian-Steinmann, who is retiring after 22 years.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

The American Diabetes Assn. African American Chapter’s tournament scheduled for today at Cypress Golf Club has been canceled and will be rescheduled. Details: (323) 966-2890.

Adams Golf is sponsoring a $1-million hole-in-one contest from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. today at Montebello Country Club. Details: (818) 295-6438.

The ninth Rancho Los Amigos Foundation tournament will be played July 19 at Friendly Hills Country Club. The event benefits the Institute for Fitness and Wellness at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey. Details: (310) 641-6477.