Camera broken by Daly sold on Australia's eBay site

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The camera broken by John Daly last week in the first round of the Australian Open will end up benefiting a charity after it was sold for $1,075 on eBay.

The eBay listing noted that spectator Brad Clegg was taking pictures of Daly in the first round of the tournament when Daly grabbed the camera and smashed it into a tree.

The camera was described as a "very used" Canon A540, which typically costs around $150. The seller said that he took five photos of Daly before the camera was damaged, and the rights to the images were included in the auction, which had 34 bids.

The seller said that a "portion" of the proceeds will benefit the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation. Newton is a former Australian touring professional who lost his right arm when he was struck by an airplane propeller in 1983.

Daly smashed the camera when Clegg tried to take a picture at close range after Daly had pushed his tee shot into a clump of trees.

Daly reportedly told the man after he smashed the camera, "You want it back, I'll buy you a new one."

Asked if he would seek compensation, Clegg told the Australian Associated Press: "I don't think I'll be chasing him for the money. He's a big bloke!"

Clegg said he did not think he'd provoked Daly by going so close.

"I was bold but I wasn't unreasonable," he said.

Daly snatched the camera and smashed it against the nearest tree, telling the man, "You want it back, I'll buy you a new one."

But Daly released a statement via tournament organizers saying Clegg got too close.

"I was looking to take a drop and a camera was 6 inches away from my face. If I was 10 under, I would have felt the same," Daly said in the brief statement. "My eyes are still burning from the flash of the camera.

"I feel it was very rude to put a camera that close to somebody's face in any situation. The guy that had the camera had already taken a dozen shots at close range."

Terms and conditions for tickets at the Australian Open prohibit the use of cameras on the course for spectators.

Tournament director Trevor Herden told reporters the episode was "an unfortunate incident," but Daly did not face sanctions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.