THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) – John Daly described his back nine as a jigsaw puzzle Thursday, when he tried to piece together bogeys and birdies and create a pretty picture on his scorecard at the Target World Challenge.

His life is a puzzle, too, with pieces scattered everywhere this year.

Injuries to his back and hand contributed to his worst finish ever on the PGA Tour money list. His season began by Daly being unaware his wife was sent to federal prison, and ended with husband and wife in a race to the courthouse to file for divorce. But after Daly shot a hard-earned 69 at Sherwood Country Club to finish three shots behind Henrik Stenson, he walked out of the scoring tent with a wedding ring on his finger and his wife waiting atop the hill.

“We’re working it out,” Daly said. “We love each other just a little more than we hate each other.”

If life is looking up for Daly, it starts with him even being at the silly season event hosted by Tiger Woods. He was 193rd on the money list and will not have full status on the PGA Tour next year for the first time since he shocked the world with his victory in the 1991 PGA Championship, the first of his two majors. But he received one of two wild-card invitations to Target, and is trying to use this week to find something positive out of a year gone bad. It helps that first place pays $1.35 million, and that even a last-place check of $170,000 would be his biggest check of the year.

“Anywhere he goes, he brings one of the biggest galleries,” Woods said after his 68, sounding more like a tournament director than the No. 1 player in the world. “We’re running a business, and we’re trying to obviously make as much money as we possibly can to put everything to our learning center. Obviously, by John being here bringing all the fans out, it brings more awareness to what we’re trying to do.”

The biggest crowds still chased after Woods, who had two three-putts in an otherwise solid round that looked as if it belonged to someone who hasn’t finished worse than second in stroke play since June.

Hardly anyone paid attention to Stenson, who holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup for Europe. Three straight birdies late in his round on a gorgeous day at Sherwood sent him to a 6-under 66, and he is sure to get more attention on Friday.

“I’ll have my big galleries tomorrow,” Stenson said with a laugh, noting that he would be paired with Woods.

U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy had a great start and a miserable finish. After flying back-and-forth over the Pacific the last month to play in Australia and Hawaii, he was at 6 under until he whiffed on a sand wedge from an awkward lie around the bunker on the 18th green and took bogey to join Woods at 68.

Fred Couples, who got the other sponsor’s invitation, and Colin Montgomerie joined Daly at 69. Woods was surprised to hear that Daly didn’t earn a single paycheck over $100,000 this year, although he can understand given the distractions he had off the golf course.

On the eve of the Buick Invitational, Daly got word that his wife, Sherrie, was on her way to prison to serve a five-month sentence. She was indicted a week after giving birth to their first child, and eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to structure a transaction to evade reporting requirements involving an alleged drug and gambling ring.

Then came the nagging injuries, first to his back, then to ligaments in his left hand, ultimately a broken pinky on his left hand when he was trying to make compensations for his grip.

“Just the injuries killed me this year,” Daly said. “That stretch in June or July with my back when I had that sciatic nerve for six or seven weeks, I tried to play and couldn’t play. That cost me six, seven, eight tournaments. Later in the year, my pinkie broke. Just been a year with a lot of injuries. It was just one thing after another.”

Then came what Sherrie Daly’s lawyer described as a “race to the courthouse.” She filed on Oct. 17, he filed the next day.

“We’re trying to work it out,” Daly said. “I think we will.”

He thought about seeking a minor medical exemption to help win back his card, but only would have received two tournaments to get that done and opted to take his chances asking for sponsor’s exemptions.

That was about as risky as crossing the street with a police escort.

Daly sent letters to every tournament and said he already has received 19 or 20 invitations, starting with the Sony Open in Honolulu next month and giving him a fuller schedule than some guys out of Q-school.

Daly, however, has always been one of golf’s biggest attractions. Most of that is his “grip-it-and-rip-it” style he first introduced at Crooked Stick in 1991, and some of it is the fans’ curiosity about what they’re going to see next.

They are blue-collar fans, which was evident as he ambled to the clubhouse after his round and was surrounded by fans seeking autographs. One man said to him in a thick drawl, “Your book was the best one I ever read. Actually, it was only one I’ve ever read.”

“I think people can relate to some of the things that have gone on in my life,” Daly said of his fans. “It’s great to have them because I’ll tell you, when things aren’t going good, you just want to try your best and they motivate me to keep going. Hopefully, next year I’ll be able to play better for them.”

AP-ES-12-14-06 1847EST