It’s almost time for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, which begs the question… will golf legend John Daly be teeing it up?
When a player wins the PGA Championship, they are exempt to play in the tournament for life (much like The Masters). John Daly won the major tournament all the way back in 1991, and it was quite the unlikely story that helped propel him into the spotlight.
If you aren’t familiar, Daly was the ninth and final alternate for the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana. What does that mean? Well, he wasn’t supposed to be in the field of competition, and needed someone to drop out of the tournament – and then the eight other golfers in front of him on the alternate list to not be able to play either.
Somehow that happened, and John Daly went from ninth alternate to PGA Champion in a matter of days. It’s one of the more unlikely major championship stories in the history of golf, and he had just joined the PGA Tour earlier that year. So the whole, “Where did this long drive hitter come from?” nature of the story only helped to bolster his lore.
Because he won in 1991, Daly has been invited back to every PGA Championship since then. While he hasn’t faired all that well competitively in recent years, the 60-year-old has always made the trip to the PGA when he’s been able to. After missing the tournament last year due to injury and scheduling conflicts, a lot of golf fans were wondering if the loud-mouthed, long-hitting John Daly would be making an appearance at the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this weekend?
Unfortunately, he will not be.
Daly hasn’t put out a statement about why he won’t be in attendance, but just a few days ago, he withdrew from the PGA Tour Champions’ Insperity Invitational. It was never revealed why, but many are assuming that the biggest contributing factor is his health. In January of 2025, he had surgery on his left hand, which he has previously said hurts him when it comes to shots that require more touch – like putting. Daly is also still in remission after being diagnosed with – and beating – bladder cancer.
It’s all a shame really. The sport of golf is more exciting, or at least more entertaining, when one of beloved fan favorites is out there. I very much wish I could tune into the 2026 PGA Championship and see “Long John” hacking it around in some bright-colored pants (even if it’s just for the first two rounds), but I suppose all of us Daly fans will have to wait until 2027 to see if the Diet-Coke-guzzling golfer can get healthy enough to tee it up in one of golf’s biggest major events.
He won’t be the only former PGA Championship winner that’s not playing at Aronimink Golf Club this weekend. Both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods will also miss the tournament that brings together some of the world’s best golfers.
Though John Daly won’t be there for competing for the Wanamaker Trophy, we can always cue up the greatest hits, eh?
