Latest Binge Leads Daly’s Wife To File For Divorce

Paulette Daly filed for divorce from John Daly less than two weeks after a drinking spree at the Players Championship that ended with the former British Open and PGA champion committing himself to an alcohol rehabilitation program.

Papers filed Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Shelby County in Memphis, Tenn., alleged Daly was guilty of “inappropriate marital conduct” and said that to continue living together would be “unsafe and improper.”

The couple married on Jan. 28, 1995. The complaint for divorce lists the date of final separation as March 27.

It was that Thursday evening that Daly was seen drinking for several hours in a Jacksonville, Fla., bar. Shortly after 1 a.m., Paulette Daly called friends to their hotel room, saying Daly was out of control.

Daly did more than $1,000 damage to the room, according to Kevin Kelshaw, spokesman for the St. Johns County sheriff’s office.

Later Friday, Daly withdrew from the Players Championship, citing a sore hip. On Sunday, he said he was entering the Betty Ford Center for alcohol treatment.

Daly, who went through alcohol rehabilitation in 1993, revealed in October that he was drinking again but said he had it under control. According to his agent, Daly had known for weeks before the Florida outburst that he had lost control again.

Agent John Mascatello said a “probable timetable” for Daly’s return would be the Kemper Open the first weekend of June.