Callaway Not Ready to Quit on Daly Yet

BETHESDA, Md. — John Daly’s withdrawal from the U.S. Open after he had played nine holes Friday was attributed to physical and mental fatigue and hasn’t affected his relationship with Callaway Golf, according to the company’s president, Ely Callaway.

Daly walked off the course at the turn, got into his car and drove away from Congressional.

He recently completed a treatment program for alcohol abuse at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage and was not playing well here. He had a first-round 77 and was three over at 38 through nine when he left.

“He was simply trying to do too much too soon by playing three straight weeks--especially under U.S. Open conditions,” Callaway said in a statement.

Callaway signed Daly to an endorsement deal soon after Daly left the Betty Ford Center. The Wilson sporting goods company had released Daly from a $30-million endorsement agreement after Daly began his rehabilitation program.

Daly, 31, has been disqualified three times in his career, either for signing incorrect scorecards or for failing to sign them at all. He was suspended for three months in November 1993, when he picked up his ball and quit in the second round of a tournament in Hawaii.

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Tiger Woods, responding to criticism that he did not conduct the usual group interviews after his tough first round Thursday, said Friday that he would only answer questions after he has played well.

“I think that may be a double standard,” Woods said, noting that most struggling players are not expected to do interviews.

“I just want to be considered one of the 156 players playing the tournament,” he said. “And, if I’m not near the lead, then I shouldn’t be required to answer questions.”

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Neither Jason Semelsberger, the 18-year-old UCLA freshman, nor 19-year-old Long Beach State sophomore Terry Noe will make the cut.

Noe shot 75-76--151 and Semelsberger shot 78-76--154.

Semelsberger had two birdies, four bogeys and a triple-bogey seven on the 16th, but he counted the Open as a positive experience.

“It was very emotionally draining,” the youngest player in the field said.

“I don’t think being 18 meant anything at all, but the inexperience did, since it was my first Open. I wasn’t used to this type of golf.”

It also was quite an experience for his uncle Don, who served as Semelsberger’s caddie. Don Semelsberger and his wife, Cam, run a bed and breakfast in Yellville, Ark., a resort town of 2,000 in the Ozarks.

Uncle Don is eager to get home to relate his experiences.

“The only person who will believe my stories is my barber, because he’s the only one who knows golf,” he said. “Everybody else fishes.”

Noe, who is from Fullerton, said he learned a great deal from his two days at the Open.

“When I get home, I know what I need to practice,” he said. “I know I need to work on my putting and my chipping and hitting fairways.

“Overall, it was a good experience. I think it will help me control my nerves in the future.”

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Kelly Gibson chose a good time to shoot under par for the first time in four U.S. Open appearances.

The 33-year-old from New Orleans shot a second-round 69 that put him at 141, one over.

Playing on the weekend is not that typical for Gibson, who has missed five cuts in his last 10 tournaments.

Actually, Gibson said he may have an edge.

“Nobody is expecting me to win, so I have nothing to lose,” he said. “I’m not backing off.”

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It was a big day as well for 33-year-old Florida pro Scott Dunlap, who has made a career of qualifying for the U.S. Open and will make the cut for the first time at 141.

Dunlap’s four-under 66 in the second round would have been even better if he had managed to avoid bogeys on two of the last three holes.

But it didn’t matter to Dunlap, not after the road he has traveled to get here.

“I haven’t set the world on fire,” Dunlap said. “There hasn’t been much lightning for Scott Dunlap, but I always look forward to the Open.”

Dunlap has been to Open qualifying 16 times and made it three times. He missed the cut in 1994 at Oakmont and again in 1996 at Oakland Hills.

His trips to the PGA Tour qualifying school number 11. He finally made it in 1996 and kept his card by finishing 124th on the money list when the cutoff was 125.

Before that, Dunlap played in South America and Asia and worked for a club pro in South Africa. In 16 PGA Tour events this year, Dunlap has missed eight cuts and made $45,179.

His gallery Friday included his sister, Page, who is an LPGA touring pro and was supposed to be busy somewhere else.

Page was scheduled for an LPGA event in Minnesota, but she got the weekend off after being disqualified from the tournament for missing her tee time in the pro-am.