John Daly came oh so close to winning on Sunday at the PGA TOUR Champions Insperity Invitational just outside Houston, the site of his only victory since turning 50.

He was tied for the lead with Mike Weir playing in the group in front of Weir. Arriving at the par-4 18th, Daly powered a drive into the middle of the fairway, only his fifth fairway on Sunday. With only about 150 yards left, he said he flushed a 9-iron.

“It was a great day,” Daly said in his post-round news conference. “I didn't miss too many shots. Made a lot of putts, a lot of par-saving putts. I played great both days. The putting is great. At least I can leave here knowing that my stroke feels good. We're going to greens next week that are kind of this good, so I'm excited about it.

“I caught a gust on 18. I hit a 9-iron from about 155 and I hit a 9-iron from 141 there and I caught a gust and just got a bad break, but I can't hit the ball any better. I'm excited about next week.”

The 9-iron came up a yard or two short, in the water. Daly ended up with his only double bogey in the rain-shortened, 36-hole event. Weir hit the fairway, too. But he hit his second shot to the center of the green and two-putted for the par and a two-shot victory. Like Daly in 2017, it was the Canadian left-hander’s first PGA TOUR Champions victory.

For Daly, this was his best finish since winning the Insperity. It was just his second top 10 of the extended 2020-21 wraparound season, to go with a T9 at the Cologuard Classic in 2020.

Daly has grown fond of the Insperity. The course was the site of the Shell Houston Open on the PGA TOUR, where “Big John” played several times. It was where he made his PGA TOUR Champions debut. It was the site of his only Champions victory. Those are good reasons for it to have a different feel for him.

“I've always loved this golf course, even in the early '90s,” Daly said. “I had some really good finishes here at the Shell tournament. Through the '90s I played really good here, and the golf course sets up. As long as I drive the ball pretty decent, because it is a risk-reward golf course with the driver, especially on the front and a couple holes on the back. But I seem to drive the ball well. I seem to putt these greens great. It's just one of those golf courses that I'm so glad it's still on our rotation because it just seems like a week that whether I'm coming in playing good or bad, I feel like I can get something out of this week with positivity in my game. I just seem to play really well here.”

It’s tough to tell how any player is trending on PGA TOUR Champions in this long, strange, COVID-interrupted season. It’s about to pick up significantly, and at least Daly is talking about looking forward to it.

“I'm just happy with everything that's gone … it would have been great to win, but I'm proud that I'm hitting the ball really well,” Daly said. “Like I said, I'm just looking forward to these next few weeks, getting into a rhythm. Our tour's finally going to get in a rhythm, which is great.”

Daly, 55, announced in September that he was battling bladder cancer, for which he also had surgery. He’s sporting a long, gray beard, one he started growing because of the diagnosis.

It was encouraging to see him putt well in Texas; he was sixth for the week in putting, which stands in strong opposition to his season long putting average (54th).

Putting is the difference for most players on PGA TOUR Champions. Daly still hits it plenty long (second on tour with a 297.1-yard average driving distance). He’s also 36th in greens in regulation, which is pretty good when you consider he’s 58th in driving accuracy.

With any luck, his putting stroke carries over to this week as the first major, the Regions Tradition, begins on Thursday in Alabama.