"I think I played so drunk here in 1991," Daly said, "I don't even remember the holes But I love the course. It is great not to have to hit two and three-irons like a lot of US Opens. It is a lot of fun to be able to play golf the way it is meant to be played."For Daly, that means grip and rip it. The shaved surrounds to the greens also remind him of St Andrews, where he won the Open in 1995. A win here would put the 33-year-old recovering alcoholic, who is still $9m (pounds 5.6m) down on his gambling exploits in the mid-90s, three-quarters of the way to a grand slam."After what I've gone through and all the downs it makes it so much nicer to have won two majors," he said.

"My career has not been the greatest but I would rather have won two majors than 15 other tournaments. What I don't know, really don't know, is who is going to show up tomorrow That's the way this year has been. It's a little scary." Instead of the three birdies in a row with which he opened the first round, Daly had pars at the first five yesterday before dropping three shots on the rest of the outward half.As a father of two daughters himself, Daly was sympathetic to Mickelson, whose wife may go into labour during the tournament. Daly said: "If he's got a six-shot lead and I'm in second three ahead of everybody else, I'd pat him on the butt and tell him to go home. With the cheque I'd get, I'd go to the baby store and buy them all the baby clothes they need."US OPEN (Pinehurst No 2, North Carolina) Early second-round scores (US unless stated): 142 K Yokoo (Japan) 68 74 143 D Love 70 73 144 J Leonard 69 75 146 S Struver (Ger) 70 76 147 J Kelly 73 74, B Burns 71 76 148 A Magee 73 75 149 R Zokol (Can) 73 76. 151 B Gilder 74 77, G March 72 79, J Williamson 73 78, G Norman (Aus) 73 78 155 C Bowden 75 80 157 J Gallagher 77 80 158 M Mielke 78 80 159 J White 76 83. 160 R Welborn 82 78, *M Call 81 79.* Denotes amateurs.FULL FIRST-ROUND SCORES(US unless stated, par 70)67D Duval, P Mickelson, B Mayfair, P Goydos68D Berganio, K Yokoo (Japan), T Woods, P Stewart, J Daly69H Sutton, C Franco (Para), V Singh (Fiji), L Mize, B Watts, B Tway, J Leonard, C Parry (Aus), D A Weibring, J Furyk, B Fabel, T Herron, R Mediate, C Smith70S McRoy, M Gronberg (Swe), S Stricker, S Struver (Ger), D Love, S Pate, B Estes, G Day, T Bjorn (Den), G Kraft, E Toledo (Mex)71C Tidland, N Price (Zim), P Price (GB), J Parnevik (Swe), S Hoch, B Hughes (Aus), S Elkington (Aus), J McGovern, G Sisk, B Burns, M O'Meara, J Maggert, K Triplett, J Huston, F Funk, S Allan (Aus), D Zinkon72T Tryba, T Scherrer, M Slawter, C Montgomerie (GB), *T McKnight, S Jones, P Azinger, S Cink, E Els (SA), O Uresti, J Tyska, G March, *H Kuehne, C Perry, B Cheesman, S Verplank, L Mattiace, E Ciotti, J Freeman73B Chamblee, T Lehman, R Freeman, J Carter, F Couples, M Weir (Can), MA Jimenez (Sp), *B Molder, K Clearwater, S Micheel, A Magee, J Kelly, R Zokol (Can), J Williamson, G Norman (Aus), L Westwood (GB), S Appleby (Aus), D Hart, D Clarke (GB), O Browne, J Sindelar, B Heintz, C Zambri, G Gregory74D Toms, C Riley, *A Barnes, N Begay, C Campbell, J Sluman, B Friend, J Durant, F Zoeller, J Haas, N Faldo (GB), J Cook, S Lowery, B Crenshaw, M Muehr, D Lebeck, B Gilder, C Pavin, L Janzen, S Gump, M Brooks, T Kite, R Allenby (Aus), G Hallberg, G Masson75R Goosen (SA), J M Olazabal (Sp), S Torrance (GB), B Wadkins, S Flesch, G Hjertstedt (Swe), K Kulzer, C Bowden, P-U Johansson (Swe), P Baker (GB), P Sjoland (Swe), T Watson76J Street, H Irwin, *M Kuchar, J White, S Leaney (Aus)77M Stone, J Gallagher, B Glasson, D Barron, R Russell, J Stuart, G Willis, A Ochoa, R Philo78J Nicklaus, C Strange, M Mielke79J Dimarco, M Calcavecchia, T Loustalot, S Fawcett, E PfisterOther scores80 M Ozaki (Japan)81 *M Call82 R Welborn* Denotes amateurs.

THEY SAY time is a healer, but 24 hours after what some observers were calling the "choke of the century", Allan Donald was still in pain. Perhaps not knowing why it had happened made it worse and after a night of endless mental replays and soul searching in his Birmingham home, South Africa's fast bowler was no wiser about the fateful last-over run-out that had cost his side a place in the World Cup final. "It was a moment of madness and total confusion," he said yesterday. "I'm still don't really know why, but it was a devastating way to go out of the World Cup." The bare bones of the situation were this South Africa have their last pair at the crease. Lance Klusener punches a yorker past the bowler, Damien Fleming, and sets off for the winning run. Donald having narrowly escaped being run-out at the previous ball, stands his ground while Mark Waugh essays a back-hand flick at stumps.