Daly’s play has been exemption to the rule

John Daly eased his way through a group of fans who pressed against a rope and waited for him to sign autographs near the 18th green at La Quinta Country Club. Programs, caps, tickets, badges and scraps of paper were thrust at him, and Daly signed them all. Then someone handed him a beer can.

Daly looked at it sadly.

“Don’t you have a full one?” he asked.

He signed it anyway.

When he isn’t busy signing, Daly is playing the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on a sponsor’s exemption, which is about the only way he’s able to get into golf tournaments these days. But Daly’s fans don’t seem to care if his game is ailing or not; they’re just happy to see him clobber a golf ball.

And after Daly’s two-under-par 70 in the Thursday’s second round, dozens lined up to see their hero. Probably no one knew it, but this was an occasion to celebrate -- his first bogey-free round in three years.

Things are going to start looking up soon, Daly said, once he starts seeing some putts drop, which should happen now that he has spent so much time working with Butch Harmon to shorten his stroke.

“He tried the same thing with Phil [Mickelson] and Phil struggled the first few weeks, so I’m sticking with it,” Daly said. “I’m hitting the ball great, I’m just not making anything.”

That wasn’t an experience shared by many Thursday, when D.J. Trahan, Robert Gamez and Justin Leonard set the pace. Trahan shot a 64 at SilverRock and is tied at 13-under 131 for the 36-hole lead with Gamez, who had a 65 at La Quinta. Leonard birdied the last two holes at La Quinta on his way to a 64 and moved from a tie for 23rd to third.

Daly is tied for 56th at three under, which means he has a lot of ground to make up. But the fans who follow his every tee shot and listen to the whistling sound of the ball as it arcs down the fairway remain solidly in Daly’s corner.

If the size of Daly’s waistline remains formidable, then so does his gallery.

Mike King of Rancho Cucamonga watched intently as Daly took on the back nine at La Quinta.

“There’s a lot of people pulling for him,” King said. “I know he’s been struggling, living on sponsor’s exemptions, but all his fans want for him is to pull himself together.”

Last year fell far short of a landmark year for Daly. He played 24 events, missed 10 cuts and withdrew from six other tournaments. Daly started his 2008 campaign last week at the Sony Open on a sponsor’s exemption and did not play on the weekend, one of 18 who fell victim to the new cut rule.

He’s in the Hope on another sponsor’s exemption, which is also how he’s getting into Pebble Beach, the Northern Trust Open at Riviera and the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. But after 17 years of playing at Phoenix, Daly won’t be there later this month because he didn’t receive an exemption.

Mike Milthorpe, the Hope tournament director, said Daly continues to be a draw.

“He still sells tickets. People still want to see him,” Milthorpe said. “I’m sure he wants to play well this year and not rely on exemptions to get into tournaments.”

Daly’s last victory was the 2004 Buick Invitational, ending a nine-year drought. His last win before that was the 1995 British Open. Daly is entered in next week’s tournament at Torrey Pines, but his five-year exemption into the Buick as a past champion ends after 2009.

All Daly wants to do is make some more putts. He said that once they start to fall, everything else will fall into place. The opposite isn’t what he wants to consider.

“If I keep missing this many putts . . . well, I’m 41, I’ll be 80 tomorrow.”

It didn’t seem to matter much to the Daly fans, who are unflagging in their support. He picked up two new ones Wednesday at SilverRock when he had lunch with tournament host George Lopez and his friends, Tony Rodriguez and Adrian Garcia of El Paso.

Rodriguez and Garcia followed Daly every hole Thursday at La Quinta. It wasn’t easy, but they followed the cart path, with Rodriguez pushing Garcia’s wheelchair. Garcia, who lost his legs in an explosion in Iraq, said it’s a thrill to watch Daly.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s weird,” Garcia said. “To follow him is one thing, but to be able to meet him and sit at the same table with him. He’s such a genuine guy.”

Daly said he keeps going because he thinks he still can win and because his fans think the same thing.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be the same,” he said. “It’s been wonderful having their support and feeling it.”

Call them the unofficial sponsors’ exemptions, the personal variety. The real ones that limit Daly’s play on the PGA Tour, and rule over it, they can wait until next week.

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