PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Before Tiger Woods was Tiger Woods, there was John Daly.

Long off the tee, Daly was an instant fan favorite when he captured the PGA Championship as an alternate in 1991.

The sky was the limit for Daly when he stepped off the 18th green on that Sunday at Crooked Stick Golf Club outside of Indianapolis to claim what looked to be the first of many majors.

Unfortunately for Daly, time moved on. He seemed to lose interest, and his off-the-course life spilled over into his play on the course. He was effectively done.

Injuries of all kinds also beset him during that time, but ultimately Daly was the reason for Daly’s demise.

On Thursday, Daly showed form that he hasn’t displayed in a very long time and put together a bogey-free 7-under 65 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

“I think I speak for pretty much every guy out here,” Daly said. “They don’t come easy and they don’t come often. You know, 68, 69, 70 sometimes come often for us, but not 64, 5, 6s and 3s and 2s. They don’t come that often. I’m happy about it.”

Daly needed only 26 putts around the Jack Neville and Douglas Grant design, with six of them more than 6 feet, including the 14-footer at the last to record his seventh birdie and his best round since a 64 in the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii last year.

“Very calm,” is how playing partner Herm Edwards described Daly on Thursday. “He missed maybe three other putts that were really close. He just went back to the next hole and he just methodically kept going through the round.”

At 48, Daly is not the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, but he is long enough to still be competitive, if he can control the golf ball. It’s an issue that’s plagued him recently, but one that he believes he has fixed with a driver that is dialed in for him.

“I’ve always loved playing Pebble,” Daly said. “If I usually drive the ball halfway decent here, I can usually score. I’m not a great poa annua (grass) putter, but I made a couple today.”

Monterey Peninsula Country Club is next for Daly, who sits in a tie for third place, just one shot off the lead of Justin Hicks and J.B. Holmes.

Friday’s second round is just one of four, but it will set the stage for the final two at Spyglass Golf Course and then back at Pebble on Sunday.

Currently coming to tournament directors with hat in hand and looking for exemptions, what happens over the next three rounds can make a big impact on the rest of Daly’s PGA Tour career.

“Hopefully I can just keep that same rhythm that I had today,” Daly said. “I had very good rhythm that – I don’t know why or how – but I found something on the range that just 80 percent today. And it worked.”

With his game working well on the course, Daly at the same time is seeing serenity off the course.

Engaged last year to his current caddie, Anna Cladakis, Daly said he has found tranquility and it’s that peace of mind that he is rebuilding his career on.

“On and off the golf course, I couldn’t be happier in my life,” Daly said. “We’re very boring people now. We really are. But we have fun together.”