For John Daly, $136,000 once represented a short stint at the blackjack table, where he would handsomely reward the kind casino for its free drinks by blowing exorbitant sums of money.

Last week, that sum equated to a second-place finish at the Italian Open after four excellent and consistent rounds in a quality European Tour event.

Yet no one really cares, and that includes me.

Daly has always been one of golf's favorite freak shows, from the moment he started launching bombs down PGA Tour fairways in the early 1990s. He is still part of the circus now, as he serves time in Europe while waiting for a six-month PGA Tour ban for inappropriate behavior to expire. But his role has changed.

Whereas once he was The Lion, capable of bedazzling onlookers desperate to see if his raw power could be contained, he now willingly occupies the role of the clown. After blowing multiple fortunes, Daly was embarrassingly forced to hawk his memorabilia outside Augusta National during the Masters.

Sad? Yes, but also proof that Daly no longer has any pride left, whatever his financial state.

Reports of his exploits across the Atlantic have gone largely unnoticed too, primarily because of his decision to don different pairs of ludicrously eccentric golf pants each day for the past two weeks.

At a time when he should be getting pats on the back for his best tournament finish in four years, he instead is getting laughed at because of his harlequinned garb.

The worst thing about the ongoing Daly saga is that he clearly has some game left and, if he keeps it up, could add some intrigue to the PGA Tour when his ban ends.

However, it is hard to see any other outcome than him ending up as a sorry sideshow. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to bother him.