Updated 8:15 p.m.
John Daly has withdrawn from this week’s U.S. Senior Open because of a knee injury.
In a tweet, Daly said that he has “deteriorating osteoarthritis” in his right knee but that the USGA denied his request for a cart this week at The Broadmoor in Colorado.
“Don’t know what’s ahead for me,” he tweeted.
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
Daly said that he is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires players or caddies to submit medical documentation proving “substantial impairment” and that the use of a golf cart is necessary. The USGA can deny the use of a cart if providing it to a player “fundamentally alter(s) the fairness of the competition.”
A USGA spokesperson confirmed Monday that Daly requested the use of a cart but declined to comment on Daly’s condition or the specific reasons why his request was denied, “as it is considered private, personal information.”
“Consistent with the ADA, we review each request for cart usage on a case-by-case basis,” the USGA said in a statement. “We deeply respect the privacy of all of our players.”
After this story was posted, the USGA posted an additional statement through its Twitter account, saying that 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.”
The USGA added that Scott Verplank also followed the USGA process and that the additional information he provided supported his request for a cart this week.
Daly on Monday night disputed that the USGA ever requested such 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 has three top-10s in eight starts this season, including a tie for seventh last week in Wisconsin. Prior to that, he withdrew from each of his previous three events. He was replaced in the field by David McKenzie.
Source: Internet
