John Daly Still Going Strong and Playing Golf Despite 16 Surgeries

For a non-PC sports and entertainment site like OutKick, John Daly is one of our favorites. The 1991 PGA Champion, who is synonymous with just living life one shot at a time (literally), is known for just being honest, real and having one heck of a good time.

That's more evident now than ever before, as the 59-year-old said that despite having his 16th surgery earlier this year and continuing to battle bladder cancer, that he still plans on golfing and being John Daly. 

DALY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BLADDER CANCER IN 2020

"I’m like Lazarus — I keep coming back from the dead," the fun-loving golfer told the Associated Press. Daly referred to his January surgery as an "emergency one" on his hand that he is still recovering from on the course, citing difficulties on "three-quarter shots and putting." At last week's Insperity Invitational, which he previously won and was a runner-up in 2020, Daly finished at 27-over par.

Whereas the rest of us might put the clubs away for a bit after a needless to say, rough performance, there's no way John Daly was going to stop, as he is set to play the May 14th Senior PGA Tour's Regions tradition in Birmingham, Alabama. This comes after Daly was originally planning on appearing at this year's PGA Championship, until the schedule makers booked both events the same weekend, something that Daly made sure to speak up about.

"Why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks (Koepka) and all the guys?" Daly asked before then appearing to take the noble route by saying that if he wanted to, he could play the PGA Championship "and make $6,000 [even if]" he missed the cut.

There's something to be said about party warriors like Daly. Despite having one heck of a roller-coaster life and late-night stories that could rival Joe DiMaggio during his Copacabana heyday, JD continues to thrive. 

One thing that I'm looking forward to is the new Happy Gilmore 2 movie, to which Daly exclusively told me and OutKick that he would be in.

An entire generation of kids now get to learn about John Daly for the first time. That's exactly what Daly needs - for better or worse!