It’s the second coming of John Daly. His son, John Daly II, is rising through the ranks in amateur golf as he tries to find his place in a world his father once dominated. Over the last couple of years, the 21-year-old has had eight top-10 finishes to his name. He is ranked 263rd on the World Amateur Golf Ranking table, his highest career ranking so far. And only a few hours ago, Daly II achieved another big milestone in his short career. And his father couldn’t be any prouder.
As the veteran golfer shared on his Instagram, you can see his son kneeling beside a huge trophy that he just captured. Turns out, Daly II had just won the 2025 Southern Amateur at Blessings Golf Club in Johnson, Arkansas, on Saturday. After starting the final round 2 strokes behind Garrett Endicott, he shot a 4-under 68 in the final round. That was enough to grab a mammoth with as he beat the field by 5 strokes.
This was the first amateur golf win for John Daly II since 2021 and his second win of 2025. He had previously triumphed in the Columbia Springs Invitational back in March 2025 at the collegiate level. The Southern Amateur win will also help him rise up the WAGR leaderboard. No wonder Daly captioned the picture, “One Proud Daddy!!! .” Who wouldn’t be proud of their son’s amazing accomplishments as they watch them follow in their own footsteps?
Interestingly, Daly II had been getting close to breaking his winless streak for a while recently. He nearly did so last month in another event. And his father was quite proud of his achievement back then, despite the heartbreak.
Despite John Daly II’s heartbreak, he still makes his dad proud
Back in June 2025, John Daly II faced another tough challenge. He faced champion amateur golfers like Miles Russell and Preston Stout in the Northeast Amateur Invitational. The young golfer displayed impressive strokeplay at Wannamoisett Country Club to give both Russell and Stout a tough battle until the very last hole. While the former nearly gave up his advantage, the latter ran away win an impressive lead.
In the end, Stout won the tournament by 8 strokes, with runner-up Russell finishing 1 stroke ahead of Daly II. Despite not winning the tournament, John Jr. was able to leave a great impression on his father, a 2-time major winner. In fact, Daly also ended up sharing an Instagram story dedicated to his son. He shared a picture of Daly II with a quote saying, “That’s my boy.” That was enough to show that he was really proud of his son’s achievement. We can only imagine the kind of party the Dalys would have now that Junior has come home with a title in hand.
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