John Daly plays with separated shoulder but gets ‘to keep my swing’

John Daly is still gripping and ripping it, but with a caveat. 

The 55-year-old was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September 2020 and is continuing his progress as he competes again on the PGA Tour Champions. 

“The bladder cancer’s benign right now,” he said Wednesday ahead of the Hoag Classic. “I go back in May and I’ve got to do once every six months now instead of three, but I’ve still got to do it for five years. Some days I feel like Superman, some days I feel like Jimmy Hoffa 6 feet under.” 

But his cancer isn’t the only thing keeping the two-time major champion from feeling like a superhero every day. For several years, Daly has battled injuries with his shoulder. However, he has balked at surgery because of the adverse effect it would have on his swing. So, instead, he does a self-repair.

“When (the shoulder injury) happened, I was seeing Dr. [James] Andrews, who looked at it and he says, ‘Look, if I do surgery on you, your swing’s going to be really short, you’re not going to be able to really have any power,'” Daly said. “I actually played with my shoulder separated. Sometimes it will pop back into place and I have to pop it back out. I went from a 30-yard draw flighting it 320 [yards] to a 10-yard cut flighting it only about 290, but at least Dr. Andrews said I could keep my swing.” 

Full-field tee times from the Hoag Classic

When Daly burst onto the scene in the early 1990s, he established himself as one of the Tour’s longest drivers during a time when players focused on finesse rather than clubhead speed.  He still averages nearly 300 yards per tee shot and last year ranked third on the Champions tour in total driving distance. 

“When I came up, you heard of long drivers being [in] long drive championships. Re/Max sponsored it and you had guys that could hit it 420, 450, almost to 500 yards,” he said. “When I came out it was me, Freddie Couples, Davis Love. It wasn’t — like nobody really heard of guys hitting it really long except for us three. The game of golf was always around the short game and the middle irons. When I came out, hopefully, I changed it a little bit. But the bottom line, it still doesn’t matter, the guys are scoring because of the way they’re chipping and putting and all that, but now there’s probably 50 guys that could hit it over 350 yards on the PGA Tour. It’s great to see.”

Decades later, Daly is still following his recipe for success as he plays a full schedule on the senior circuit while dabbling in some Tour events. And his injury may be helping him more than hindering him. 

“(My shoulder is still) separated,” he said. “I just play with it separated. That’s how I get a nice cut out there. I just don’t hit it anywhere anymore.”

Daly had three top-10s last year and outdueled Team Woods to win December’s PNC Championship with his 18-year-old son, John II, who’s thriving on the Arkansas Razorback’s golf team just as his father did nearly 35 years ago. But except for his son, Daly warns against following in his footsteps. 

“If you look at me as a role model, if you do the opposite of John Daly, you’re going to do really well in life,” he said.