American John Daly was troubled by a rumour that spread around the Medinah Country Club on Tuesday claiming he had died from a heart attack.
”Just a sick individual starting a bad rumour,” said Daly. ”I was leaving the course and my agent is calling me, terrified. And my wife was terrified. It had already gotten to Arkansas and Memphis. I guess I was dead at 9.37am [Tuesday morning] but I was out here at 7.30[pm].”
Daly is in Chicago to compete in the 88th PGA Championship. He generally does not use the locker rooms at tournaments and travels in a motor home. With his well-documented battles against weight, drinking and gambling, his family feared the worst when they heard the news.
”They said I had a heart attack on my bus. All my friends and family at home are calling in a panic. Why would anybody do that,” Daly said.
The Medinah club is investigating how the rumour began.
”How quickly it spread around here is actually frightening,” said Medinah head professional Mike Scully, who received a call on his cellphone from someone saying Daly had died.
Asked if he had any ongoing health problems, the chain-smoking Daly quipped, ”No, I don’t even take Viagra yet.” — AFP
