Every so often in golf, the golfing gods seem to be frowning upon you and right now, that’s exactly how John Daly must feel after he decided not to play the PGA Championship.
Daly can play the PGA whenever he likes but this year, he opted to step aside and play the Regions Tradition on the PGA TOUR Champions instead.
Daly’s rationale came in that he could earn more money by playing on the Champions Tour event, while he also lamented the decision to hold two big events on the same weekend.
“I can go there (PGA Championship) and miss the cut and get $6,000. (Instead) I’m playing Birmingham (Alabama). I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor, (but) why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship,” Daly said last week.
However, after Daly shot a career low 27 over par a few weeks back, things haven’t got much better for him at the Regions Tradition either.
John Daly suffers early withdrawal after skipping the PGA Championship
With the Regions getting underway yesterday, Daly was actually among the first out and in fairness, he started extremely well.
Daly birdied the opening two holes to actually lead early on but then after making three pars in a row, he made two consecutive double bogeys and after the seventh hole, he withdrew.
At the moment, the reason for Daly’s withdrawal is not abundantly clear.
However, with a troubling hand problem this year and his history of illness a few years ago, one hopes that nothing has recurred to make Daly walk away from tournaments.
Will John Daly still get paid for withdrawing from the field?
It seems typical that after boasting of being able to make more money at the Regions, John Daly is now going to walk away having made absolutely nothing.
Most events on the PGA Tour and TOUR Champions only offer payouts for those who make the cut and traditionally, anyone withdrawing before a cut line makes nothing.
Of course, the PGA TOUR Champions events generally don’t have a cut as they’re played over 54 holes.
The Masters does offer payments for all the field but that tournament is an anomaly really.
Still, Daly will be lucky to have earned anywhere near the £6k he’d have pocketed at Quail Hollow,
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