John Daly once suggested that he could not even bring himself to watch the US Open at Shinnecock Hills back in 2004 due to the condition of the golf course, as he commented on whether he felt that he had the game to win the event at some stage.
The US Open is generally the major which offers the toughest test of the season for the world’s greatest players.
Just one of the last seven winners of the event has reached double figures under par. Most recently, Wyndham Clark won the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills on four under.
Interestingly, that was the same winning score when the Southampton venue hosted the event more than two decades earlier in 2004. However, that year’s US Open is largely remembered for chaos caused by the conditions.
Why John Daly labelled the 2004 US Open an embarrassment
Retief Goosen won the event, while Phil Mickelson also ended the week under par. However, those at seven over par for the tournament did well enough to make it into the top 10.
At one stage, ground staff were watering the seventh green between groups because players were finding it simply impossible to get their ball to stay on the putting surface.
And while John Daly claimed in an interview with Golf Digest the following year that he felt he had the game to win the US Open, he insisted that what happened at Shinnecock became a shambles.
“I think so [I can win it]. I didn’t play last year at Shinnecock, which was probably a good thing. I couldn’t even watch it after a while, it was so embarrassing,” he said.
“Those are my fellow competitors out there, hitting good shots into a par three like number seven, and they take triple bogey. What about golf? What about skill? I couldn’t watch much last year. Stupid.”
John Daly and the US Open never got along
Unfortunately for Daly, it would never click for him in the US Open.
He won both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship during his incredible career. However, the US Open was the only major he failed to register a top-10 finish at.
In fact, his best result was tied for 27th.
Daly would play in the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst, and would make the cut. However, that remains his most recent appearance in the event. Meanwhile, Shinnecock Hills has gone on to host two more US Opens.