It has been a tough year for the most popular players in golf, in regards to physically being able to tee it up at the majors.
Tiger Woods missed both The Masters and U.S. Open, and is likely to be miss the next two as well; Phil Mickelson was absent for the U.S. Open; Dustin Johnson was an 11th hour scratch at Augusta; and now the Senior U.S. Open is going to have to commence without their biggest draw, John Daly.
The immensely popular 51-year-old withdrew from the tournament on Monday, citing a nagging shoulder injury which will cost him his chance for his first major victory since 1994.
Bullets
- Officially Out: John Daly, who won the Insperity Invitational on the Champions Tour last month, announced his withdraw from this week’s Senior U.S. Open. It would have been his second attempt at the premiere senior event, as he missed the cut last year after opening with rounds of 70-81.
- Strong Season: Daly currently ranks 11th on the Champions Tour money list. The win at the Insperity was his only top 10 of the season, but he does have additional finishes of T12, T13, and two T17s.
- Still Long: The long-hitting Daly leads the Champions Tour in driving distance, with an average of 300.6, making him the only player on Tour with a 300+ average.
- The Diagnosis: Daly announced on twitter than he has been dealing with something called “impingement syndrome”, more commonly known as “swimmer’s shoulder”.
- The Replacement: Ted Tryba will replace Daly in the Senior U.S. Open field.
Quotable
“Sad to miss @amfamchamp –dealing w/Impingement Syndrome, shoulder not ready per drs orders. Been working all wk on it & hope to be bk soon!”
–John Daly, via Twitter
