John Daly has enjoyed quite a career out on the golf course, however, the veteran endured a tough week out on the Champions Tour at the Insperity Invitational
10:43 ET, 06 May 2025Updated 12:36 ET, 06 May 2025
John Daly endured a tough week(Image: Getty Images)
John Daly endured a week to forget on the Champions Tour, after the 59-year-old finished rock bottom at the Insperity Invitational on 27-over-par.
Daly – who made a return to competition earlier this after undergoing surgery – was in action at the $3 million event as a past champion, having secured the title back in 2017. Eight years on though, things did not go to plan for Daly, carding a 79 on Day 1 before failing to break 80 over the weekend.
Having shot an 83 the next day, the former Open champion followed this up with an 81 on day three, in a finishing round that included five bogeys, a double bogey, and a quadruple bogey eight on the par-four seventh. He has also been left off the PGA Championship entry list despite being a former winner, with 16 LIV Golf players receiving invitations. It comes after another PGA Tour star announced he has undergone surgery and will also miss the second major of the year..
READ MORE: Jordan Spieth gets brutally honest about Scottie Scheffler – ‘Better than him’READ MORE: Caitlin Clark’s star power drives record-breaking ticket prices for Fever preseason game
Daly’s struggles continue a tough run of form as he appears to be still recovering from a number of injury issues. Back in January, the five-time PGA Tour winner left golf fans in shock, after posting a photo to his followers on social media of him lay in a hospital bed.
Daly added a caption, confirming that he had undergone surgery on a hand problem, the same injury sustained by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler over the Christmas period. “Emergency hand surgery… thankful went great & Doc McClimans for taking care of me. Be back playing in no time!” he wrote.
Like Scheffler, Daly was forced to miss the early stages of the 2025 season before finally being able to make a comeback in March. The two-time major champion announced he would return to competition at the Hoag Classic, despite admitting his hand was not fully recovered.
Daly finished bottom of the leaderboard(Image: Getty Images)
“It’s good to be back. It’s been a little brutal, but the hand’s about 80 percent.,” he said. “So figured I’d come here. I love playing in the Hoag Classic. Every year, the guys are so great. So we’ll see what happens.” Since then, Daly has gone on to play four times, but his outing last week proved to be his toughest.
In finishing on 27-over across the three rounds, Daly found himself 11 shots behind the next-worst player Corey Pavin and a whopping 38 shots behind winner Stewart Cink, who got his hands on the title after seeing off Retief Goosen in a playoff.
Speaking on his return at the Hoag Classic in March, Daly delved into the troubles he had gone through with his hand. “[The doctor] doesn’t understand how I played last year,” he commented. “But he put it back, attached it to the forefinger or something. 16 surgeries in four years, I’ve lost count pretty much.”
