John Daly Wins Restraining Order Against Wife as Long as He Makes Cut

John Daly's six-month exile from the PGA Tour ends Thursday when he tees it up at the St. Jude Classic. It'll be his first professional start on American soil since last October's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Naturally, Daly missed the cut.

Now 40 pounds lighter, Big John has a renewed focus on golf. Maybe because this could really be his last chance, or maybe because he's broke and hasn't fully embraced the idea of humping a real job for a living. Whatever, he's back, and it starts in Memphis where he has a history. Via the Wikipedias:

On June 8, 2007, Daly and his fourth wife Sherrie got into a fight at a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, site of that week's tour stop, the Stanford St. Jude Championship. Daly claims that later that night his wife attacked him with a steak knife. He showed up for his 2nd round on Friday afternoon with cuts and scrapes across his face.

Sherrie later claimed that Daly had scratched himself in an attempt to make it look like his wife attacked him. So, yeah, it should come as no surprise that JD asked for a restraining order against Sherrie since she has a house on TPC Southwind, site of the tournament. The judge granted it, but with some conditions.

"The restraining order expires at the end of play Friday if he does not make the cut -- the top half of the field that advances -- in the tournament that starts Thursday.

"'If he's not in the hunt for the million-dollar purse,' said Circuit Court Judge Jerry Stokes, 'then he's just a spectator like everyone else.'"

We spend a lot of time talking about pressure, but I think Daly's situation redefines the term. It's one thing to need to make an eight-foot putt to make a cut; it's something entirely different to need that eight-footer to avoid an expiring restraining order against a crazy ex-wife.

And who knows, maybe it'll work. In which case, Daly can bring Sherrie -- and the subsequent restraining order -- with him to every event. Or maybe we're making too much of this; according to her lawyer, wife No. 4 "hope[s] he makes the cut ... She's not pulling against him. She's pulling for him."

Stokes continued, "... because, you know, it means a bigger alimony check. Hey, I'm just being honest."*

* Stokes didn't say that, nor did he imply it. It's a joke.

via Local Knowledge