John Daly has admittedly lived an interesting life both on and off the course.
Earlier this week, ahead of The Galleri Classic, the two-time major winner reflected on his lengthy career when shown a picture of his rookie tour card from 1992.
“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.
“That’s when I could actually play the game.”
He made the comment about his health about two months after he underwent emergency surgery on his hand.
He shared a post from his hospital bed in January, adding that the surgery was a success and that he would “be back playing in no time!”
He returned this month in time for the Champions Tour’s Hoag Classic in California.
“It’s been a little brutal, but the hand’s about 80%,” he said at the time in a video, via ESPN. Daly revealed he has undergone 16 surgeries in the last four years due to tangled tendons.
In a recent podcast appearance, Daly also opened up about being diagnosed with bladder cancer.
“It was scary,” he said during an appearance on the “Like a Farmer Podcast.”
“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.’”
He underwent surgery and has been in remission for four years.
Despite all his health setbacks, Daly had a positive message about life for his younger self when looking back at his rookie picture.
“Hey, great life.”
