Golf legend John Daly, 59, blasts PGA Tour for major tournament scheduling clash

By ERIC BLUM

Golf legend John Daly, 59, has blasted the PGA Tour for scheduling the PGA Championship directly against one of the five major tournaments on the Champions Tour next week. 

Instead of competing at the PGA Championship, Daly will compete in the first of five majors on the Champions Tour, the Regions Tradition, which is scheduled for the exact same time.

The golfers eligible for both tournaments, with Daly being only one of a handful, are typically expected to play within the PGA Tour head to head, especially with the golfers still talented enough to compete for the win. 

Daly has openly questioned why the groups scheduling the events did not work together to give those over the age of 50, who are eligible to play the Champions Tour, a chance to participate in both. 

‘I can go there and miss the cut and get $6,000,’ Daly said of the PGA Championship, $2,000 more than the event gave to players who missed the cut at Valhalla.

‘But I’m playing Birmingham. I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor. But why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks [Koepka] and all the guys?’ 

Daly has blasted the PGA Tour for a scheduling clash with two major tournaments next week 

Both the PGA Championship and the Champions Tour’s Regions Tradition end next weekend 

Daly also has given a bleak outlook to his health status after his 16th surgery in January, saying that ‘waking up is a win’ with how much he’s been under the knife. 

Four months ago, Daly had emergency hand surgery, and he returned to golf in March, without impressive results. 

Daly has finished in 56th place, tied for 75th, tied for 50th, and a 77th place nod.

‘I’m like Lazarus – I keep coming back from the dead,’ Daly told the AP. ‘Waking up is a win for me.’

Daly is not the only major name who will not be present in North Carolina for the PGA Championship next week. 

Tiger Woods will not play the tournament, as he is recovering from Achilles tendon surgery.

Daly missing the PGA Championship comes as a former winner of the event, taking home the trophy in 1991, when the major was held at Crooked Stick in Indiana.  

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Golf legend John Daly, 59, blasts PGA Tour for major tournament scheduling clash

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