John Daly Plays Golf One Day After Collapsing on Golf Course

Big John Daly is one of the most colorful players on TOUR and seems to be making headlines most weeks for reasons other than his golf. This weekend was no different after a scary situation Daly experienced at a small golf tournament in Mississippi.

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Suffering in the Southern heat all of Saturday, Big John collapsed while standing on the 18th tee of Deerfield Country Club and had to be rushed to the hospital.

In what was a scary event for both Daly and his playing partners, it seemed that he came out of it with no serious injuries. He was even spotted playing in tournament the very next day after being released from the hospital from what some are calling a “near-death experience.”

Some witnesses even say they saw him puffing down cigarettes on the clubhouse patio following the incident.

Despite how Daly has been dealing with the situation, it appeared to be a serious moment to those who experienced it first hand. Will Dottley was playing alongside John on Saturday and had this to tell the Golf Channel:

"“I had my arm around him when he went down. He had no pulse and wasn’t breathing for close to three minutes,” said Dottley, who added that there was a nurse in the gallery who administered CPR. “It was kind of a miracle.”"

“I was having a great time and then suddenly — boom — I’m falling down while on the 18th tee and the next thing I know I’m in an ambulance,” Daly said. “It was scary.”

The diagnosis for Daly’s collapse was due to a collapsed lung as a result of a rib injury he has been dealing with since 2007.

Daly is still going through a lawsuit stemming from the incident at the 2007 Honda Classic. A woman allegedly jumped out of nowhere during his backswing on the 12th hole trying to take a picture of him. Daly says he tried to stop his swing, hitting behind the ball and suffering two fractured ribs and a separated shoulder.

Parked outside of Augusta National earlier this year, Daly talked about the incident while standing at his RV, signing merchandise for fans.

"“This lady didn’t even have a ticket — she came out of one of the houses. The weird thing is we warned her twice. We didn’t think she’d do it. I hit about that far behind the ball, and my ribs went one way, my shoulder went the other way.”"

Big John said he was putting a new tire on his son’s golf cart earlier this week, which indirectly led to his scare on the 18th tee. Due to his injured hand, Daly changed his swing a little to get a better grip on the club. His doctor believes that the change in swing motion reaggravated his rib injury leading to his collapsed lung.

“I had to change my swing some to get a good grip, and the doctor said the changed motion is likely what led to the collapsed lung,” Daly said. “It’s kind of a freak accident.”

Luckily for golf fans, the legend says he is alright and that doctors found no further serious injuries. The two-time major champion will turn 50 in April and will be eligible for the Champions Tour. It would be a beautiful site to see Daly tear up the old man’s tour. Let’s hope he can stay healthy for long run.

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