'He had no golf balls left' - Daly's Aussie Open quit defended

John Daly prepares to leave the Australian Open. Photo / Getty Images

Craig Parry may be the only person ready to defend John Daly for quitting during the first round at the Australian Open yesterday.

But Parry, who played with Daly, reckons it's wrong to judge the American too harshly for walking off the course after running out of balls.

"I am defending him," Parry said after a windswept afternoon at The Lakes.

"He had no golf balls left. That's why he walked off. I do [have sympathy for him].

"I like John. I think when he comes out here he does try his best. He's a very pleasant guy. He doesn't carry on, doesn't swear.

"In hindsight, it probably wasn't the right thing to do [quitting] but he had the right club and was trying to do what he thought right."

Parry was referring to the six or seven balls - an exact count was hard to come by it all happened so quickly - that Daly dunked in the drink at the 11th hole before making an early exit.

Daly didn't hang around for a chat with the media, but Parry said Daly's frustrations began the previous hole, when the two-time major winner hit the wrong ball out of a bunker.

Curiously, a TV cameraman knew it was the wrong ball, but didn't say anything until after Daly had hit. The bloke could have saved Daly a two-stroke penalty, even if it wasn't really his job to do so.

Daly was clearly on the verge of boiling over and what happened at the 11th was all too familiar from a guy who once ran up an 18 at the par-five sixth hole at Arnold Palmer's tournament in Florida.

Daly's invitation to this month's Australian PGA Championship at Coolum in Queensland was immediately withdrawn - a gross over-reaction, according to Parry.

"He's always been aggressive. That's just the way he plays," Parry continued.

"When you're out there making decisions, sometimes you're right and sometimes you're wrong."

- AAP