Golf Legend John Daly Withdraws from PGA Championship Due to Injury

Daly’s victory in 1991 gave him lifetime access to the competition.

John Daly officially withdrew from the tournament on Monday due to injury, so fans won’t get to see his impressive swing at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill this week.

Daly has been replaced by German player Stephan Jaeger, according to a Monday social media announcement from the competition.

Daly has only occasionally appeared on the PGA Tour in recent years, so it is unknown what injury prevents him from being in New York this week.

Because of ankle surgery, Tiger Woods is another former champion who won’t be competing this year.

Regularly, big events like the PGA Championship are when Daly reemerges into the public eye. Daly has lifetime access to the competition due to his 1991 victory.

Over the past three years, Daly has participated in five non-major events on the Tour, but he hasn’t made a cut since the Reno, Nevada-based 2019 Barracuda Championship. While Collin Morikawa won the competition, he placed 69th overall.

PGA Tour Champions, the tour’s senior division, is where Daly, 57, has competed. Although he has competed in five championships on that Tour this year, his best placing was tied-38th at The Galleri Classic back in March.

Daly has always been a fan favorite, not just for his monster tee shots that earned him the nickname “Long John,” but for his charismatic personality that is the total opposite of the traditional golfer.

In reality, the 1991 PGA Championship was a typical Daly tale, as the 25-year-old entered the field at Indiana’s Crooked Stick Golf Club as the ninth alternate after many competitors withdrew. Daly wasn’t supposed to do much, but he quickly persuaded others to change their minds.

Daly tied for eighth place in the field with a first-round score of three under. However, a second round of five under par gave him sole possession of the lead, which he wouldn’t give up at the end of either Saturday or Sunday. With a final-round score of one-under, he outperformed Bruce Lietzke by three strokes and finished the tournament at a total of 12-under after being 11-under after a 69 on Saturday.

Daly’s first PGA Tour victory as well as his first major victory both contributed to his notoriety. On the Old Course at St. Andrews, he would later triumph in the 1995 Open Championship. For his second and last major victory to date, Andrews won in Scotland.

Daly may not have had major-worthy performances lately, but his laid-back demeanor and fascinatingly long backswing will still be a big draw for fans both in person and online, so he will be missed.

Daly has an exemption for The Open at Royal Liverpool in July because of his victory in 1995, so maybe he can recover in time.

Reference: www.foxnews.com