Golf is a funny old game. Last week there was a mixture of outrage and sympathy for Steve Williams on the back of comments which, in his own words ‘could be construed as racist’. This week sees John Daly hitting the headlines after he walked off the course at the Australian Open. He was having a shocker and didn’t want to be there. Australian PGA chief executive Brian Thorburn said "The PGA does not need this kind of behavior tarnishing the achievements of other players and the reputation of our tournaments. John is not welcome at Coolum."

I’m not sure if I agree.

If you ask me, golf needs people like John Daly, it doesn’t need people like Steve Williams. It was Williams’ explanation that riled me more than anything. If he can only see that referring to someone as a ‘black a*******’ could be construed as racist upon reflection, then he’s a bigger idiot than I thought. Surely he should be clever enough to realize that at the time. But it’s ok, he’s got friends from a multitude of diverse backgrounds; yes Steve, that makes it ok. He’s probably not a racist, but he’s clearly not a clever man either.

Daly in contrast is a hero of mine. He’s golf’s version of snooker’s Alex Higgins or football’s George Best or Paul Gascoigne.  A lovable rogue. Good or bad, he gets people talking. Does this behavior really tarnish the achievements of other players and the reputation of tournaments? No. It doesn’t. I don’t think anything less of the Australian Open, if anything I’m more interested now than I was before.

I know I’m not alone in my opinions, and that’s all they are, my opinions.

What do you think?