John Daly, Who Returned to the PGA Tour After Several Months, Suffers an Acrimonious Exit at $8.6M Team Event

John Daly might be one of the most popular faces in town, but at 56 years old, the ‘Wild Thing’ has left his prime. He predominantly plays on the PGA Tour Champions nowadays, albeit contesting in two major championships due to his past wins. But the people’s favorite golfer made a comeback in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event at the Zurich Classic, where things didn’t go smoothly for the veteran.

John Daly’s nightmare opening at the Zurich Classic

Pairing up with former World No. 1 David Duval, the 56-year-old played his first PGA Tour event in years at the team competition in Zurich. After an initial tough round on the opening day, where the pair carded a 75, things began to move south.

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The unfortunate circumstances began when the veteran pair, with a combined age of over a century, was shifted to morning tee times for the second round due to impending weather delays. The decision gave little time for the duo to recover from fatigue, which proved too much to handle the following day.

To say the least, the pair had a horrendous opening nine holes on Friday. A score of 45 in the first half didn’t make for good reading between the two former greats. While they turned back time in the last few holes, their overall score read an abysmal eleven-over 83.

How did John Daly and David Duval make it to the Zurich Classic?

The difference exhibited the gulf of class between the pair and the rest of the field. But having played the veteran tour, how did the two golfers get their ticket to the Zurich Classic?

As it stands, the tournament has an unlimited number of sponsor exemptions to round out its field. Due to the scheduling of the event right after the Masters Tournament and the ‘elevated’ RBC Heritage, the organizers have a task at hand to drive registrations. With famous pairs such as Duval and Daly available, it becomes logical to have such renowned names in the competition.

The pair eventually finished with a fourteen-over par, with their closest challengers settling for par. If it wasn’t evident already, the duo didn’t make it to the weekend.

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