John Daly, one of golf’s most colorful and unpredictable figures, etched his name in the PGA Tour Champions record book on Friday — but not in the way he would have hoped. At the Sanford International, the 59-year-old veteran carded a staggering 19 on the par-5 12th hole, the highest score ever recorded on a single hole in the tour’s history.
Breaking an unwanted record
The nightmare unfolded at Minnehaha Country Club, where Daly endured a disastrous stretch of swings that will now stand as an infamous benchmark. According to shot-by-shot details, John Daly’s tee shot landed in the rough, setting the tone for what followed. He then hit seven consecutive shots into the hazard, unable to clear the water.
Eventually, he managed to escape the trouble, landing his 17th shot on the collar of the green. From there, he got up-and-down to card a 19 — a mark that shattered the previous Champions Tour record by three strokes.
The prior record was shared by three players, most recently Bruce Crampton in 1996 at the Greater Grand Rapids Open. Daly’s new milestone replaces it as the unfortunate standard.
Flashbacks to Bay Hill and other lows
This wasn’t Daly’s first experience with such a catastrophic hole. Back in the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational, he took an 18 on a par-5 after repeatedly finding water with his 3-wood. That infamous moment has long been part of Daly’s unpredictable legacy, but Friday’s round officially pushed that memory aside.
Daly finished the Sanford International with an 88 overall, playing alongside Stephen Ames and two-time major winner Ángel Cabrera. Cabrera, celebrating his 56th birthday, shot a 64 — 24 strokes better than John Daly’s total on the day.
His highest-ever round on the PGA Tour remains a 90 at the 2014 Valspar Championship, when a combination of yips and water balls left him with another painful memory, including a 12 on the par-3 16th hole.
Finding a silver lining
Unlike his Bay Hill disaster, where he followed up his 18 with a birdie on the next hole, Daly’s response at Minnehaha was more muted. He settled for a par on his 13th hole, showing resilience but unable to flip the momentum.
For fans who have long admired John Daly’s fearless approach and larger-than-life personality, this latest chapter adds another layer to his storied and unpredictable career. Though it is a record he will hardly celebrate, it reinforces Daly’s reputation as a golfer who has experienced the highs and lows of the sport in equal measure.