Golf cult hero John Daly issues worrying health update after SIXTEENTH surgery

Cult hero John Daly has declared himself Lazarus and revealed 'waking up is a win for me' after opting out of next week. The two-time major winner is still on the comeback from a 16th surgery after requiring an operation on his left hand earlier this year.

A series of health issues have taken their toll , after which he vowed to stop smoking and improve his lifestyle. Though he is still often pictured with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth while enjoying a round of golf.

Daly became a cult figure for his dress sense and off-course activities as well as his great achievements on it. 'Wild Thing' won the US PGA in 1991 and the Open four years later via a play-off against Constantino Rocca at St Andrew's.

The 59-year-old has suffered from over the however. He spent time in rehab on more than one occasion, .

His return from surgery has not been easy in 2025 and he finished 27 over par last week at the Insperity Invitational, a tournament he won in 2017. Daly reckons his biggest issues remains playing through the ball on three-quarter shots and his putting after finishes of tied 56th, tied 75th, tied 50th and 77th this year.

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“I’m like Lazarus — I keep coming back from the dead,” he said. “Waking up is a win for me.”

And while Daly is set to miss out on the PGA Championship, he will still be enjoying time on a course. The veteran will instead play the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Alabama — the first of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions — after it clashed with the major at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"I can go there and miss the cut and get $6,000,” Daly said of the PGA Championship. "But I’m playing Birmingham. I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor. But why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks (Koepka) and all the guys?”

Fellow former PGA winner Rich Beem, who took down Tiger Woods in 2002, has also chosen not to play this year. Beem now works for and felt he didn’t have enough time to prepare this year.

It won't be the first major Daly has missed, and it's been two decades since he played at . The American (close to £600,000) for an appearance at Augusta this year however. Once again, the former and champion isn't out on the course, but restaurant chain Hooters is responsible for his hefty pay packet.

Around a mile from the course, Daly was in attendance at the local branch of Hooters for what has become an annual meet-and-greet. Speaking to , the veteran pro said his goal for the week was to "Eat some good food, smoke, sell some s***."

His team estimated he made around $780,000 last year as he sells items such as cigars and signed balls. "The people come here and it's like the first time to Disney with him," Daly's caddy Lance Odom said.

"Each person that comes up, they have a story. It's like being with Michael Jordan. You can't go to the gas station without people coming up."