And how he did it! In the last 34 years, encompassing more than 1,500 PGA Tour events, Daly is only one of only 10 players to shot 75 or more in the final round and still win the tournament. You would have thought it was a major championship by the way Daly was making every par look like a birdie out there on Sunday.

I don't think there was a person watching who wasn't rooting for Daly on Sunday, other than maybe those associated with Luke Donald or Chris Riley. It was the kind of final-day drama that not even Hollywood screenwriters in Hollywood could have dreamed up.

Daly is golf's folk hero, the outrageous, unpredictable bad boy, almost in the same vein as radio shock jock Howard Stern. How many bad boy golfers do you know who can go from winning the PGA Championship and the British Open to battling the demons of alcoholism, back to winning on the PGA Tour? How many major championship winners do you know who could go from flying around the world in private jets to having to sell autographs and merchandise from their mobile home just to make ends meet? Other than Arnold Palmer, how many golfers do you know of that have as loyal of a following of worshipers, even when he has been struggling just to make the cut? His flock covers the spectrum of fans, from the beer-drinking laborers to champagne-drinking CEOs.

Undoubtedly, there were tons of Daly's fans rooting for him on Sunday when he won the Buick Invitational.

KEYS TO VICTORY

John Daly: He won with a lot of heart, patience and good luck. It was as if Daly's guardian angel was guiding him around Torrey Pines on Sunday. Even his bad shots turned out great. For example, take his third shot at No. 9. From behind trees and with a bunker in front of him, John punched an iron that hit a tree root, jumped into the air over a bunker and nestled within 20 feet of the hole!

You know how a cat has nine lives? Well, if Daly was a cat on Sunday, he would have used up all of them! For example, he could have easily made more that a double bogey on the third hole, as his tee shot went into a hazard, but he got a perfect lie for his next shot. However, that failed to make the green and rolled back into the hazard, but again found a good lie. The chances on this happening are about one in 10. Then there wa his terrible 2-iron on the 14th hole that was pushed way right. It not only rattled through the trees, but came down in a perfect position so that Daly could go on to make his par.

Of course, Daly was also helped by other players' bad breaks. Nine players finished either tied with Daly or within one stroke of him. That hasn't happened on the PGA Tour since 1990, when 10 players were either tied or within one stroke of Tony Sills at the Shell Houston Open. Players got close to Daly only to fall back, such as Phil Mickelson. He finished up with a 67, which included a very stupid double-bogey at No. 12 -- if he had parred the hole, he would have won his fourth Buick title.

Still, Daly did two things right -- scrambling and putting. He ranked second in putting and fourth in scrambling, getting it up and down 22 of 29 times. Still the big scrambling stat was his sand play. Including the playoff, he was 11 of 13 in getting it up and down from greenside bunkers. Some special moments was his up-and-down at No. 16 to keep himself in contention. But the shot of the week had to be his 100-foot bunker shot in the playoff, which he got within a foot of the hole. It was the best bunker shot under pressure I ever saw.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Daly next. In the past, he has always pissed away a victory with either drinking, gambling or marital problems. But Daly is now a lot older and wiser. It has been nine years since his last PGA Tour win and Daly has been able to handle his demons a lot better now. Golf really need a character like Daly. Watching Tiger win is a fantasy we can't really relate to. But watching Daly win is very close to all of us because just like him, most of us are a bit overweight, chain smoke, drink a bit too much and have the normal problems that life brings.

Watching Daly win is a bit like us winning, so we love it, and hope for more in the future.

Daly's stats (with rank in parentheses):

Fairways hit: 29 of 56 (T31st)
Driving average: 308.5 (5th)
Greens hit: 43 of 72 (T68th)
Putts: 105 (26.25 a rd) (2nd)
Putting breakdown:
0 putt greens: 2
1 putt greens: 36
2 putt greens: 33
3 putt greens: 1
Eagles: 1	
Birdies: 17 (T9th)
Scrambling: 22 of 29 (4th)

Scrambling measures how many times a player gets up and down for par or better on the holes where he missed the green in regulation.

WHY THEY DIDN'T WIN:

Chris Riley: It's hard to find fault in Riley's game, other than the fact that he is one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour, which puts him at a big disadvantage against long hitters like Daly. Still, you can't say that this is a problem. Riley was 12 under on the par fives this week, best of anyone in the field. Still if there was one moment Riley would like back, it would probably be his bogey at No. 17. Missing the green wasn't very smart and it was one of the rare times he wasn't able to get up and down to save par.

Riley stats (with rank in parentheses):

Fairways hit: 25 of 56 (T59th)
Driving average: 285.5 (T70th)
Greens hit: 40 of 72 (T79th)
Putts: 102 (28.50 a rd) (1st)
Putting breakdown:
0 putt greens: 3
1 putt greens: 38
2 putt greens: 29
3 putt greens: 2
Eagles: 1	
Birdies: 20 (T3rd)
Scrambling: 22 of 32 (15th)

Luke Donald: He is showing us a lot this year and is very close to winning. Donald was rolling along perfectly on Sunday and frankly looked as if he could win after birdieing No. 13. But he followed that up with bogeys at Nos. 14 and 15 and was forced to birdie No. 18 just to get into the playoff. Just as with Riley, if Donald has one weakness in his game, it's his size and inability to hit the ball a long way. Short hitters are becoming an endangered species on the PGA Tour.

Donald stats (with rank in parentheses):

Fairways hit: 35 of 56 (7th)
Driving average: 285.5 (T70th)
Greens hit: 50 of 72 (T21st)
Putts: 115 (28.75 a rd) (T22nd)
Putting breakdown:
0 putt greens: 2
1 putt greens: 25
2 putt greens: 45
3 putt greens: 0
Eagles: 0	
Birdies: 17 (T9th)
Scrambling: 15 of 22 (T16th)

Phil Mickelson: Oh, how close he came this week! It took closing birdies on his two final holes on Friday just for Mickelson to make the cut. He was a forgotten figure until he birdied eight of his first 11 holes on Sunday. With that, he shot up from T31st to within two of Daly and Stewart Cink, who were just starting their rounds. But Mickelson blew it when he thought he was four back of the lead and tried to press a 6-iron on the 12th hole. This led to a hooked shot that missed the bunker and caught the high rough; he went on to make double bogey. Still, Mickelson didn't get down on himself and finished the round with five pars and a birdie to get to nine under.

Although he didn't win, Mickelson has a lot to show for his four starts in 2004. He has four top-10 finishes, the first time in his career that he has started the year in this fashion. Still, Mickelson won't be a complete player until he wins a major. Phil, the Masters is just 50 days away.

Mickelson stats (with rank in parentheses):

Fairways hit: 24 of 56 (T66th)
Driving average: 306.3 (11th)
Greens hit: 45 of 72 (T53rd)
Putts: 118 (27.00 a rd) (T3rd)
Putting breakdown:
0 putt greens: 2
1 putt greens: 33
2 putt greens: 36
3 putt greens: 1
Eagles: 0	
Birdies: 21 (T1st)
Scrambling: 17 of 27 (29th)

Tiger Woods: His T10th finish was his worst finish ever in the Buick (he finished in the top five in all six previous Buick starts), but that would be a bit unfair. That's because Tiger was only two out of the playoff. However, in a, uncharacteristic finish, Tiger got within striking distance at nine under, with a birdie at No. 10, only to waste them with bogeys at 12 and 15. Over the three times that he played the back nine on the South Course, he was even-par, which is why he lost.

Again, putting was a problem for Tiger this week. He didn't make his usual number of putts between five and 10 feet. He also had problems with the bunkers at Torrey Pines; he was one of seven from the greenside bunkers, the worst percentage of anyone who played 72 holes. We will see Tiger this week in L.A. at the Nissan Open, followed by defending his Match Play Championship crown before he heads off to Dubai.

Woods stats (with rank in parentheses):

Fairways hit: 24 of 56 (T66th)
Driving average: 304.9 (15th)
Greens hit: 48 of 72 (T30th)
Putts: 119 (29.75 a rd) (T49th)
Putting breakdown:
0 putt greens: 0
1 putt greens: 26
2 putt greens: 45
3 putt greens: 1
Eagles: 0	
Birdies: 21 (T1st)
Scrambling: 12 of 24 (T56th)

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND STATS

Year	Average	Yearly ranked
1992	74.179	4th
2004	73.432	N/A
2003	73.277	11th
2002	73.153	7th
1997	72.814	14th
1990	72.812	21st
1998	72.411	19th
2000	71.822	30th
1986	71.874	35th