Even the bad boy of golf has to succumb to the wrath of injuries. For John Daly, his worst nightmare comes in the form of an unexpected thumb injury on Day 2 of the PGA Championship. The 58-year-old has thus withdrawn from the second major of the season on Friday morning, before the onset of the second round.

The first day was not as easy going on the 1991 PGA Championship winner either. He opened with an 11-over 82 at Valhalla and stood at 155th in the 156-player field after the round was summed up. Daly was already making use of a permitted golf cart under the Americans with Disabilities Act, citing arthritis as the reason for choosing the aid. The California-born headliner has been riddled with injuries before and has time and again struggled with his health. Daly also inspired thousands of people with his sportsman spirit during his fight against bladder cancer.

In September 2020, Daly told the Golf Channel he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The golfer underwent surgery to remove the cancer but mentioned that as per doctors, the disease could return. In April 2021, he said the cancer was benign. He has also been through knee replacement surgery in 2022. “I’m getting my knee replacement done Wednesday, full knee replacement. So, I’ll be out for a while,” said Daly. He delayed his surgery so that he could compete in the PNC Championship with his son.

In the event of his withdrawal from the PGA Championship, fans were quick to respond. While some sympathized with the injured pro golfer, others were more keen to mock the trivial nature of something as unexpected as a thumb injury. So what was the golf world’s verdict on the cause of Daly’s suffering?

Fans make John Daly’s misery a laughing stock

A user wrote, “Injured his thumb opening a beer,” making fun of the professional golfer’s rare site of injury. According to this fan, the most probable cause of Daly’s misery was his love for beers, and he must have injured his thumb while opening his favorite beverage. Daly also has a collaboration with Michigan-based brand Good Boy Vodka. 

Another Twitter user pointed out, “Saw the traffic and said fuck that I’m going to hooters,” bringing attention to the heavy traffic in Louisville near the event’s venue. In their viewpoint, Daly must have used the injury as an excuse to save himself the trouble and hours of waiting in the traffic (the same traffic that paved the way for his fellow golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arrest). They also guessed that Daly must have rather chosen to drive down to the nearest Hooters, a restaurant chain he holds in high regard.

A fan was quick to ascertain, “They ran out of coke and snickers,” as the primary reason behind Daly’s exit. This idea sprang from the rumor that a volunteer in John Daly’s group was overheard saying that “he went through two packs of cigarettes, four Snickers bars, and two Cokes today at Valhalla.” The fans made this rumor the crux of their understanding of Daly’s withdrawal based on a dearth of Coke and Snickers.

One user on X wrote, “It’s raining, and I don’t want to play. Ouch, my thumb hurts,” mimicking the potential reason for the bad boy of golf’s withdrawal from the second major of the season. It has been raining in Louisville, and the course has softened a bit.

Yet another fan of golf remarked, “Was he having a hard time taking his cigarettes out of his pocket??” They brought into notice how Daly is often seen smoking and posed the question of whether an injured thumb was a result of having trouble taking out cigarettes from his pocket.

One netizen wrote, “A nation mourns,” taking a sarcastic dig at John Daly’s misery. Considering the rather trivial nature of such an injury, the fan used wordplay to hint that there are much more important golfers on the field, and definitely news information is too worthy of the organizing committee’s attention.

All in all, John Daly’s misery was not received with much empathy by fans online. Stay tuned to EssentiallySports for regular updates about the 2024 PGA Championship as the excitement unfolds at Valhalla!