Golf legend John Daly has never been one to hold back, and his latest comments about his health are no exception. The two-time major champion got candid this week ahead of The Galleri Classic, reflecting on his three-decade-long career and the battles he’s faced along the way.
Shown a picture of his rookie tour card from 1992, Daly didn’t hesitate to make a shocking remark about his well-documented health struggles. “I didn’t think I’d been out here for three decades,” Daly said in a video shared by the PGA Tour Champions. “I’ve only been dead 11 times. I’m like Lazarus. I just keep coming back from the dead.”
The comment came just two months after Daly underwent emergency hand surgery, the latest in a long list of medical procedures he’s endured. Back in January, the golf icon posted from his hospital bed, assuring fans that the surgery was a success and that he would “be back playing in no time!”
Daly is unstoppable
True to his word, the golf great returned to action this month for the Champions Tour’s Hoag Classic in California. “It’s been a little brutal, but the hand’s about 80%,” Daly revealed, per ESPN. He also disclosed that he has undergone 16 surgeries in the past four years due to tangled tendons.
But perhaps the most harrowing health battle of Daly’s life came when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. During a recent appearance on the “Like a Farmer Podcast,” the 58-year-old opened up about the frightening moment that led to his diagnosis.
The scary battle against cancer
“It was scary,” he admitted. “I was peeing blood, pukin’ blood. … I thought my back was killing me, and I didn’t know. And I went in Little Rock, got a checkup and everything on my back and then, was it a neurologist? Doctor saw it and said, ‘You gotta come back.'”
Fortunately, Daly underwent surgery and has been in remission for four years. Despite all the health setbacks, Daly still maintains his signature outlook on life. When looking back at his rookie picture, his message to his younger self was simple: “Hey, great life.”
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