By Staff Writer
Big-hitting PGA TOUR Champions player John Daly, 54, has always relished a challenge but recent diagnosis of bladder cancer has brought a new challenge of a very personal kind.
In the late 1990s Daly became known as Long John due to being the longest driver on tour, when he regularly hit the ball over 300 yards.
Daly won the Open Championship in 1995, and with international wins including the BMW International Open in 2001 and the Kolon Korean Open in 2003.
Turning 50 in April 2016 made Daly eligible to join the PGA TOUR Champions, adding to the field a splash of color, in his hallmark vibrant shirts and pants. He won the Insperity Invitational the following year.
For the tenacious big hitter, his professional career has been a series of highs and lows, and in pre-pandemic times his antics both on and off the course have given him a dedicated fan following.
Daly has been tagged “the king of comeback,” and today there are thousands of golf fans rooting for his comeback battle against cancer. If there’s anything positive to be found in John Daly’s situation, it is that it highlights the importance of cancer awareness, early diagnosis and developing treatments.