John Daly — after lumbering around Bethpage Black on Wednesday for a nine-hole practice round in a cart the PGA of America is allowing him for the PGA Championship — had the audacity to call his use of the cart “a big disadvantage this week, trying to map it out and trying to figure where I can and can’t go.’’
If only the rest of the PGA Championship field had such problems as they trudge around the big ballpark that Bethpage Black is.
“Trust me, I hate riding in the cart,’’ said the 53-year-old Daly, who’s suffering from osteoarthritis in his right knee. “If I could walk, I would do it. I could probably walk four holes and be done. The thing swells up so bad.’’
Daly’s feathers were ruffled a bit by a Tiger Woods throw-down the day before.
On Tuesday, when Woods was asked about Daly’s use of a golf cart, he delivered this snarky comment: “As far as J.D. taking a cart … I walked with a broken leg, so …”
Woods was referring to his 2008 U.S. Open victory, during which he competed with a stress fracture in his leg.
Daly, in an interview with USA Today earlier Wednesday, said he wished Woods had taken time to learn “all the facts” about his health issues.
“Might have been a different comment (from Woods) as well as the Golf Channel Wednesday morning, when they bashed me pretty good,’’ Daly said.
Asked why he’s even bothering to compete, Daly, who has a lifetime exemption into the tournament based on his 1991 win, said, “I am a past major winner of this and I just feel obligated. I don’t know why. I just do. It got me started in my career. It’s very special to me and I just feel like I need to play, or try to anyway.’’
Asked how his game is, Daly said, “It’s so-so. It’s not great, but you never know. Give it a shot and see what happens.’’
Daly is scheduled to tee it up at 12:54 p.m. Thursday for his first round, alongside Steve Stricker and Rich Beam.
Ranked 1,836th in the world, Daly likely will be at Bethpage for 36 holes before he misses the cut on Friday and departs, leaving his cart to be parked back in the cart barn.