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Show Daly playing and behaving SHAPIRO The Washington Post BY LEONARD . better without all the hooch sober ever since his stay in an Arizona alcohol-treatmefacility early in 1993. His head, which he shaved bald himself d 78 at Greensboro in after a a codly comfortinto has April, grown able blonde buzzcut. And he's off to the best start of his nt first-roun- WASHINGTON John Daly preferred the approach to prepare for Thursday's first round of the Kemper Open. The PGA Tour's most popular player spent Tuesday practicing in relative privacy, 40 miles away at the Robert Trent Jones course. He didn't set foot on the Avenel grounds until shortly before tee noon Wednesday for his pro-atime. And he sent word he'd be declining an invitation to appear in the media low-profi- le m room. "The only way I'm going to play good is to make sure I'm prepared." Daly said earlier Wednesday morning, sipping orange juice at the Northern Virginia home of his Washington-base- d agent, John Mascatello. "It's hard to do the shoptouts every week, play the practice rounds on Tuesday and the pro-aWednesday and do all the interviews too. Before I tee off, I'm worn out." That is not the case these days for Daly, who's wild ride during his first three years on the tour has settled into e control in 1994. Daly sat out the first four months of the season after being suspended by former PGA Tour m semi-cruis- commissioner Deane Beman for various transgressions last season, including an incident at the Kemper when he stormed off without signing his scorecard after an opening round 78, an automatic disqualification. But now he's back, paired in the first two rounds with another big box-offiPhil Mickelson. Daly draw, is contrite and says he has been stone ce career. 21st on the money list with $319,000 and a victory in Atlanta, the most important title of his career other than the 1991 PGA Championship that launched him into America's consciousness. "The first thing that went through my mind when I gave up drinking was I didn't think I could ever win again," Daly said. "That's why Atlanta was big, very big." His petulance at the Kemper last year was merely a metaphor for his life at the time. He was fac ing charges in Colorado stem ming from an incident over Christmas in 1992, when he trashed his own house and was accused of assaulting his then- wife Bettye. He also was dealing with all the demons plaguing a recovering alcoholic fresh out of rehab. "It was a rough week," he said. "I almost had to withdraw the week before because the Colorado thing had come up. I love Avenel. I'd almost won here the year before, but the last thing on my mind was golf. It was tough not to play, but it was very hard to play. "Sure I regretted it (not signing his .O a,sl card). But in a way, it could have been helpful to me too. If I'd played the next day knowing I didn't have much of a shot at making the cut. I might have real ly done something crazy, thrown my clubs. So maybe not playing was a positive. "Last year I was in this frustration mode," he said. "I had a tough time dealing with everything. I was more shy of people. I was scared of the way people would react to me. And a lot of things were going on away from the golf course that didn't help." Daly will now admit that the suspension after he picked up his ball at the Kapalua event in November may have been a godsend in a lost Masters year, save for a third-plac- e finish and making the cut in all four majors. "It just helped me get out of everything for awhile." Daly said. "I also knew something was going to happen. I was almost hoping I would get suspended. ..To tell you the truth, it was just a big relief to know that I could get away from it all for awhile and just work on my game. He also has been working to clear his mind. He has a new girlfriend, but says he still sees his 2- - vnfc- - Shynah, regularly. He's changed caddies, and an bid friend from Arkansas is now driving the fully equipped traveling bus, com plete with Razorback logo on the back and his signature slogan. "Grip It and Rip It." on the side. He still frequently calls his friend, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, the former Dallas Cowboys linebacker who lectured on his own battles with cocaine and booze while Daly was in rehab. And he's been seeing University of Virginia sports psychologist Bob Rotella. who described him recently as "a very receptive student He definitely wants to turn this into a wonderful story of his life." Tom Kite, another of Rotella's tour clients, said he can clearly see the differ- ence in Daly. "It's great what he's doing." Kite said Wednesday. "Getting off alcohol is a major step. He's got a lot of people supporting him and giving him new direction. He's good for the game. I enjoy John very much. I enjoy being around him. When he's sober, you can actually carry on a conversation with him." Daly says now. whenever he thinks about having a drink, he makes himself go to a bar "and watch someone else make a fool of himself." He is still a chain smoker, drinks too many Diet Cokes and has daily battles with a chocolate addiction. His greatest therapy is driving down the road, pulling the bus into a campground and knocking out tunes on his guitar. There '8 a VCR on board, and last week Daly said he watched The Babe, a purported biography of Babe Ruth. "I could definitely relate to him," he said. "Especially where people can love you one minute and destroy you the next. The one thing that really got to me was how much he loved the kids. He just seemed to be a hell of a guy... 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