John Daly is anything but a quitter. You can ask his cigar dealer if you don’t believe us. So there must be a good reason for him to actively withdraw from a PGA Tour Champions event. While that hasn’t been revealed yet, the 60-year-old’s shocking exit from the tournament has come to light very early in the ongoing tournament.
Daly had just started his round in the 2026 Insperity Open, according to the PGA Tour Champions website. He completed his third hole and was sitting at 2-over par. Unfortunately, that is when he decided to pack his kit and call it quits at The Woodlands Country Club.
It was uncertain why he made that decision. He could have sustained an injury, but nothing was clarified on camera. It’s not odd for the major winner to withdraw from Champions Tour events early as well.
Last year, while playing the Regions Tradition, Daly called it quits after just seven holes. However, his reasoning back then might have been far different from what it might be today. However, his score remained the same in both situations. After scoring two birdies followed by two double bogeys, he sat at 2-over par in seven holes. That may have caused him to quit. However, today’s withdrawal seems more inclined towards an injury than frustration over losing an advantage.
John Daly withdraws from Insperity Invitational https://t.co/0uEpTIG1B6
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports pic.twitter.com/anhhkNMX8K
— Golfweek (@golfweek) May 9, 2026
That said, we might have played ourselves by saying Daly is not a quitter. Because he has a history of playing to his convenience.
John Daly’s history of withdrawals
When things get bad, John Daly jumps ship. That has been the case his whole career. Many would remember the 2011 Australian Open, where he lost his cool for hitting the wrong ball. So he lashed out by hitting many golf balls into the water before walking out.
In the 1998 FedEx St. Jude Classic, Daly famously withdrew from the event but didn’t sign off on his scorecard. Hence, he instead faced a disqualification. During the 2008 Australian PGA Championship, Long John faced another disqualification after he threw his putter and ball into the water for disqualification.
He had also directed verbal abuse towards a tournament official. Lastly, during the 2015 Senior PGA Championship, a poor start and a dispute over a golf cart led to his withdrawal from the major.
Many of his withdrawals have come out of anger, some out of frustration from poor performances, and on rare occasions, there have been no explanations. So if Daly doesn’t end up giving a reason why he quit the $3 million PGA Tour Champions event, the 2026 Insperity Open, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
