John Daly

His life turned in 1991 at the PGA Championship, one of golf's four Grand Slam events. Daly, the ninth and final alternate, got to play when Nick Price was scratched, his wife about to give birth. Upon getting the news, Daly drove all night from Memphis to Crooked Stick Golf Club outside Indianapolis. He played without a practice round and won the tournament.

Dan Davies, writing for the British Web site Rivals.net, said the Sunday gallery served to inspire Daly, not intimidate him. "They simply loved Daly's 'Grip it and rip it' mentality, the way he walked after his ball, sent it into orbit and then walked after it again." Daly, inspired by a good-luck note on his locker from the redoubtable Jack Nicklaus, overcame a first-hole bogey and some jitters on the final three holes to claim the $230,000 first prize and an avalanche of endorsement deals. The money went to his head and contributed to his quick decline.