The 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black has a unique field, folding PGA club professionals from around the country into the field with 99 of the 100 top players in the Official World Golf Rankings. But the field will also be unique because it will include one competitor moving about the course in a golf cart.
1991 PGA Championship winner John Daly still has his spot in the field, and got his use of a golf cart approved for this year's tournament. Daly blames a bad knee preventing him from walking around the course during his appearance this year.
"I hope I don't get a lot of grief from the fans," Daly told the AP. "My knee is screwed. I had the meniscus cut out. I have osteoarthritis so bad ... I can walk up a hill, I just can't walk down one."
Whether Daly will catch grief from fans is yet to be seen, but he's already caught a stray from reigning Masters champion Tiger Woods. Woods was asked about Daly's use of a golf cart during his press availability on Tuesday, and he responded with an epic taunt, referencing his own gritty performance in winning the 2008 U.S. Open with a broken leg and torn ACL.
"As far as JD taking a cart, well ..." Woods said, taking a pause before continuing with a bit of a smirk on his face, "I walked with a broken leg."
Daly is not the first player to use a cart in a major. The last to do so was Casey Martin in the 2012 U.S. Open.