John Daly withdrew from the 2018 US Senior Open on Monday, after the USGA denied the two-time major winner's request to use a cart at The Broadmoor in Colorado.
Daly has been dealing with a knee injury dating back to the Insperity Invitational in May 2017, when his knee buckled and he collapsed walking under the pressure. He withdrew from the PGA Tour's FedEx St. Jude Classic three weeks ago. In a tweet, Daly said that he has “deteriorating osteoarthritis” in his right knee, and he lobbied the USGA for a cart under the Americans With Disabilities act. However, they declined his motion.
Unfortunately— I had to WD from the US SENIOR OPEN. The deteriorating osteoarthritis isn’t helping my rt knee. I fall under the @ADANational but @USGA turned down a cart for me this week. Just going to give the knee a rest. Don’t know what’s ahead for me. https://t.co/Bna5maK13P
— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) June 25, 2018
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, players or caddies must submit medical documentation proving “substantial impairment” and the need for a golf cart. The USGA then has the right to evaluate the petition and decide if the use of the cart would be allowed or it would make the competition unfair to the rest of the field.
Later Monday, the USGA posted a statement relating to Daly's case on Twitter, saying in part Daly’s request “did not support a waiver of the walking condition. We offered Mr. Daly the opportunity to provide additional information to support his request for a cart. He informed us this morning that he decided to withdraw.”
Daly retorted on Twitter, suggesting the USGA never requested additional information.
I’m not going to mislead the media or my fans. No “additional information” was ever requested, or it would have been provided. I “WD” bc @USGA had already made their decision after our exhaustive medical submission. Any claim to the contrary is pure fiction. https://t.co/6EfnBnkqaJ
— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) June 26, 2018
Daly finished T-7 last week at the American Family Insurance Championship on PGA Tour Champions.
