My wife stabbed me with a steak knife as I slept, says golf star Daly

Daly, nicknamed Wild Thing' because of his lifestyle and big-hitting, arrived at a tournament on Friday with vivid scratch marks down his face.

American Daly, 41, and fourth wife Sherrie, 31, are said to have rowed at a nearby restaurant on Thursday night.

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Police said he called them at 6am on Friday, claiming that she had tried to stab him with a steak knife.

But when officers arrived at his house near the course in Memphis, Tennessee, Sherrie and their two young children were not there.

The drama did not appear to affect Daly unduly, as he went on to drop only two shots in his thunderstorm-hit round at the St Jude classic.

But he said: "While I slept at home last night, I was the victim of an assault by my wife. This morning, I filed a complaint with Shelby county sheriff's office.

"My only concern is for the safety of my children and myself and we are working closely with local authorities and golf tour security officials to assure appropriate safeguards."

Daly, who battles alcoholism and claims to have lost £30million gambling, has had a tempestuous relationship with Sherrie, whom he met at a tournament in 2001 and married seven weeks later.

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Their son John Junior was born the week she and her parents were indicted in Mississippi on charges relating to a drug ring and illegal gambling.

She served five months in jail last year. Her mother also got five months and her father two-and-a-half years.

She and Daly filed for divorce last October but a month later said it was on hold. "We love each other just a little more than we hate each other," said Daly.

"We're trying to work things out. I think we will."

The alleged drug activity was between 1996 and 2002 and Daly has always said he knew nothing of it.

His soap opera lifestyle has been as fascinating as his play, which has declined since he won the Open at St Andrews in Scotland in 1995.

He had a gun held to his head by his father when growing up and has also battled eating disorders, trashed hotel rooms and been talked out of several suicide bids.

"People can relate to some things that have gone on in my life," he said. "Everybody has ups and downs."