John Daly fuming with USGA, withdraws from US Senior Open
Daly denied his request to use a golf cart.
A fuming John Daly has withdrawn from this week's US Senior Open after being denied the use of a golf cart by the USGA during the tournament.
Daly, 52, had asked tournament officials if he could use a cart due to his "deterioriating osteoarthritis" in his knee, but his request was soon rejected due to not being able to provide the specific medical documentation that was supposedly required. According to Daly, however, "no additional information was ever requested, or it would have been provided."
"I had to WD from the US Senior Open," wrote Daly.
"The deterioriating osteoarthritis isn't helping my rt knee. I fall under the ADANational but USGA turned down a cart for me this week. Just going to give the knee a rest. Don't know what's ahead for me."
USGA rules make it clear that "a disabled player or caddie may be permitted to use a golf cart as an accommodation to his or her disability for those events where golf carts are not allowed."
I’m not going to mislead the media or my fans. No “additional information” was ever requested, or it would have been provided. I “WD” bc @USGA had already made their decision after our exhaustive medical submission. Any claim to the contrary is pure fiction. https://t.co/6EfnBnkqaJ
— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) June 26, 2018
The governing body claims it evaluates each player's medical request on a "case-by-case" basis.
To qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act for a golf cart in competition, players or caddies must submit medical documentation asserting that they have a condition which makes using a golf cart necessary.
The USGA may have refused a golf cart if the condition is not covered under the ADA or if giving a player a golf cart would "be fundamentally altering the fairness of the competition." The ADA only covers conditions that are considered "a substantial impairment."
