“Lookin’ for a new shoe contract” - John Daly reacts to his own unbelievable ‘barefoot’ field goal
John Daly is anything but ordinary. Whether his ability to attract attention is innate or intentional, or a bit of both, the fact is that he can't go unnoticed. He doesn't even try.
A few days ago, John Daly went viral (again) because the PGA Tour Champions X account posted a video of him making a 50-yard field goal, completely barefoot. It is a remarkable athletic feat, especially for a person over 50 years old like Daly, who, additionally, wasn't wearing shoes.
John Daly took advantage of the widespread if ephemeral popularity that a social media post can get and posted his own reaction to the video. "Lookin' for a new shoe contract," the controversial player posted.
The video post has more than 1.5 million views on the PGA Tour Champions X account alone, while John Daly's reaction has been seen by more than 600,000 users.
This action by John Daly was a reference to a series of field goals that Daly himself made on the Denver Broncos' practice field in 1992. It is worth noting that, at that time, the young Daly did make the goals while wearing shoes.
Did John Daly play football?
After watching him for more than 30 years going back and forth to PGA Tour tournaments and other circuits, smoking cigarettes and drinking cokes, it's hard to imagine John Daly in a more athletic performance activity than golf. And yet, it happened.
Daly not only played other sports, but excelled in baseball and football (obviously, in addition to golf). According to Essentially Sports, Daly did not advance his development in baseball, but he did take up football and golf in parallel for some time.
Specifically, in his high school years, Daly was one of the best in both sports. So much so that he won the Missouri State Football Championship as punter and place-kicker for the Helias High School team.
Some Daly fans even responded to his post (mentioned above) by claiming that his field goal records remain unbeaten at Helias High School.
That same year (1983), Daly won the Missouri State Amateur Championship and the Missouri State Championship (golf). The following year he moved to Arkansas and there he also won the State Amateur Championship.
The rest is familiar history for every golf fan. Daly decided to take up golf and became a professional player in 1987. In 1991, he won his first tournament on the PGA Tour by winning no less than one of the four majors (PGA Championship). In 1995, he won his second major (The Open).
Daly completed his career in the open category with another 17 victories, but it has not been the end of his journey in professional golf. So far, he has played 124 tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions, with one victory, 12 Top 10s and 116 cuts made.