He is the American golfer who unexpectedly won a major in only his third start after driving all night to make his tee time

Add as preferred source on Google

Throughout the years, major championships have thrown up some hugely surprising winners every now and again.

Sure, the majority have been won by the big names.

Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan devoted their lives to becoming the very best at what they did.

However, every now and again, a prodigious natural talent comes along and shocks the world by winning one of golf’s biggest events.

And with The PGA Championship just around the corner, it’s a good time to look back at one of the most memorable major wins of all-time.

John Daly won the PGA Championship after driving all night to make his tee time

Back in 1991, John Daly made history by becoming the first ever alternate to win a major championship.

Daly finished up at 12-under-par, and won by three shots from second-placed Bruce Lietzke.

‘Big John’ or the ‘Wild Thing’, as he is affectionately known, drove all night in order to get to Carmel, Indiana to make his tee-time.

He was actually the 9th alternate for the event, so the fact that he went on to win really is remarkable.

The long-hitting Daly took the world of golf by storm, and he has since gone on to experience a real rollercoaster of a career.

Daly’s horrendous showing last week at the Insperity Invitational was a reminder that he isn’t the golfer he used to be.

But that should not diminish the sheer brilliance of his achievement 34 years ago.

Before his win at Crooked Stick in 1991, Daly had played only two majors – The US Open in 1986 and 1989.

Those two starts yielded a missed cut and a tie for 69th position.

So to say that Daly was an unheralded name heading into the PGA Championship in 1991 is an understatement.

The now 59-year-old went on to win four more PGA Tour events after his PGA Triumph and incredibly, one of those was another major – The Open Championship in 1995.

Daly recently said that he will play the PGA Championship again in 2027, when the tournament heads to PGA Frisco.

That’s the beauty of his win back in 1991 – he has a special lifetime exemption to play in the event until he hangs up his clubs.

John Daly’s best finishes in majors

Daly’s two major wins are made all the more incredible by the fact that his overall record in golf’s four biggest tournaments really isn’t very good on the whole.

Aside from his two wins, he only had one other top-10 finish – a tie for third at The Masters 32 years ago.

There is no doubt that Daly is an absolute legend of the game.

Daly’s story began when he instantly endeared himself to golf fans with his incredible win at the PGA Championship in 1991.

The man from Arkansas is a one-off talent. If he spent as much time on the driving range as he did having a good time in the bars, who knows where he might have ended up.