John Daly, suffering from a right knee injury, said he had to withdraw from the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship because the USGA “turned down a cart” for the golfer.
“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,” Daly wrote in a Twitter post.
Daly, 52, said he qualifies for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The USGA states that golfers and caddies who fall under ADA “may be permitted to use a golf cart as an accommodation to his or her disability for those events where golf carts are not allowed. As required by the ADA, the USGA will evaluate such requests on a case-by-case basis.”
The USGA released a statement in response to Daly, stating: “Each request is reviewed individually. We respect the privacy of all players and cannot discuss any medical conditions. We offered Mr. Daly the opportunity to provide additional information to support his request. He decided to withdraw this morning.”
It later released a longer statement: “Consistent with the ADA, the USGA reviews each request for cart usage on a case-by-case basis, and can confirm John Daly followed the USGA process, which includes working with a medical consultant.”
The USGA added: “However, his submission 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 stated that Scott Verplank followed the process for requesting cart usage and the information he provided supported his request.
Daly, who was fully exempt and was expected to play in his second U.S. Senior Open, will be replaced in the field by David McKenzie, a 50-year-old professional from Australia, the first alternate from the South Bend, Indiana, sectional qualifying site.
Daly has a history of injuries and health concerns. He withdrew from an event in October 2017 when his right knee collapsed; he also withdrew from an event in June 2017 with a shoulder injury. More recently, Daly was involved in a crash in a Hooters parking lot when a car slammed into his bus.
The 39th U.S. Senior Open will be held on The Broadmoor Golf Club’s East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, beginning Thursday.