Fans&apos favourite John Daly is wary of the conditions awaiting him in Friday&aposs second round after keeping himself in contention with a three-under 69 on the opening day of the Australian Open at The Lakes. Daly went to bed convinced the tournament would be delayed after several days of heavy rain but arrived at the course on Thursday morning to find it in near-perfect condition even if his game didn&apost quite match. The larger-than-life American fired six birdies and three bogeys to finish four strokes behind clubhouse leader Matthew Griffin. Daly gave himself a pass mark but is wary of getting too excited, with an afternoon tee-off on Friday sure to throw up more challenging conditions. “I was sitting there watching rain the last couple of days and 9pm last night I was looking out and it was pouring and I thought we may not play tomorrow,” he said. “But I haven&apost got any mud on my shoes or anything. That&aposs pretty impressive with all rain we&aposve had.&apos&apos “The course is in great shape but we don&apost want anymore rain because it will be hard tomorrow.” “Five or six-under par would have been really good for me today, a little more comfortable, (because it) will blow in the afternoon and par is a good score when it blows this hard.” “It&aposs always nice to play early on (in the) morning on a course like this and in first round get off to a good start and get some confidence.” “(Because) when the wind blows it will be (about) survival.” The two-time major winner was pleased with his form off the tee but felt his short game let him down over the opening 18 holes. “I had plenty of opportunities, missed lot of putts, but I&aposm hitting the ball decent,” Daly said. “I had a couple of three-putts that were 15 feet, that hurt a little bit, but made a great six at 17 that could have been disaster.” “Three-under (is) not too bad to start out.” Daly has gone six years since his last win as he re-builds his game following a well-publicised battle with alcohol, gambling and ballooning weight.
Author: Adam Lucius at the Lakes, Sportal