John Daly Roars Through Opening Round at British Open

Filed under: British Open, PGA What's wackier than John Daly's latest wardrobe? Seeing his name near the top of the British Open leaderboard.

Daly shot the best nine holes of his British Open career on Thursday's opening round at St. Andrews, topping the 33 he shot when he won the Open at St. Andrews in 1995 with a bogey-free front-nine 31.

Daly jumped to an early lead after shooting five birdies on a bogey-free front nine, and though he appeared to be on pace to break his best round at the British Open after back-to-back birdies on the back nine, he leveled out with pars on holes 12 though 16 before giving a stroke back on 17 -- the notoriously tough Road Hole.

The former champion's only bogey on 17 turned out to be the difference from logging his best round at the British Open. The par 4 is one of the most challenging holes on the course, as players face a blind shot off the tee box to a fairway guarded by deep pothole bunkers. Still, Daly had a shot to redeem himself and log his lowest round but just missed a birdie putt on 18.

In fact, Daly had several chances to shave a few strokes off his scorecard, but Wednesday's rainfall softened up the super-sized greens, resulting in even slower rolls than usual and a few missed putts from the extravagantly dressed golfer.Cubs White Sox Braves Indians