Mylan Classic: Daly, Mediate head field at Southpointe
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John Daly is a former spokesman for 84 Lumber Co.
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Make no mistake, John Daly is no stranger to Western Pennsylvania. He has played in tournaments in the area on five occasions, hit golf balls out of Three Rivers Stadium and across the Monongahela River and served as a chain-smoking, guitar-strumming spokesperson for the 84 Lumber Co.
He even had a learning center named for him at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, where a statue of his long, corkscrew swing still stands near the fifth green at Mystic Rock -- the course that once played host to the defunct 84 Lumber Classic.
Now, in a career that has included two major championships but also any number of personal missteps, Daly will make a return appearance to the region when he plays in the Nationwide Tour's Mylan Classic Sept. 1-4 at Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg.
Daly, who won the 1991 PGA Championship and the '95 British Open, will compete in the 72-hole event. He will be joined by Greensburg native Rocco Mediate, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour who played in the inaugural Mylan Classic a year ago.
- What: Nationwide Tour golf tournament.
- Where: Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg.
- When: Sept. 1-4.
- Tickets: Ground passes $25 at www.mylanclassic.com.
"I love Pittsburgh," Daly said Monday from Knoxville, Tenn., where he is playing in a Nationwide Tour event this week. "Joe and Maggie [Hardy] have always been like family to me. I know I'm not represented by them anymore, but I still have 84 Lumber customers who come out and watch me play. So I feel like an adopted cousin back there."
Daly and Mediate are competing at Southpointe because they are not eligible for the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs that begin this week.
Daly is playing on a sponsors exemption -- one of four allotted by the tournament -- because he doesn't have any exempt status on the PGA Tour. Shortly after he missed the cut at Southpointe, Mediate, 48, won the PGA Tour's Frys.com Open in October, giving him a two-year exemption to play on any tour.
"They are two of the top fan favorites and two of the most colorful players on the PGA Tour," Southpointe president Rod Piatt said. "We think they will enhance our event and add to the excitement of the tournament. We're thrilled to have them."
Daly has not won a PGA Tour event since the 2004 Buick Open and has just six top-10 finishes since then -- two of those coming in playoff losses in the Houston Open (Vijay Singh) and the World Golf Championship-American Express Championship (Tiger Woods) in '05.
First Published August 23, 2011 12:00 am
