John Daly's 2026 PGA Tour Champions season has stalled again. The two-time major champion walked off The Woodlands Country Club after only three holes of his opening round at the Insperity Invitational on Friday, abandoning the $3 million senior event after sitting at 2-over par.
No official medical reason was confirmed by the tournament, but the withdrawal is the latest chapter in a long-running fight with the Hall of Famer's hands. Daly underwent tendon surgery on his hand in January, the latest in a list of procedures the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 Open winner has spoken about openly.
"16 surgeries in four years, I've lost count pretty much," Daly said earlier in his comeback.
When he made his on-course return last year, Daly framed his progress in cautious terms.
"It's good to be back. It's been a little brutal, but the hand's about 80 percent," he said.
A visit to a specialist before this winter's surgery left even the doctor surprised the long-haired Arkansan had been able to compete at all.
"The tendons were all wrapped around each other. [The doctor] doesn't understand how I played last year," Daly said.
Friday's exit was Daly's fifth start of the 2026 senior season and the latest in a string of subdued results. He missed the cut at the Senior PGA Championship, finished 71st at the Regions Tradition and recorded his best finish of the year — a tied 21st — at the Hoag Classic. The Insperity, played on a refurbished Tournament Course at The Woodlands, was supposed to offer the kind of resort-style setting that has historically suited his attacking style. Instead, he was out before the par-4 fourth.
Leading the tournament after the opening round was PGA Tour Champions rookie Ben Crane, with defending champion Stewart Cink and seven Hall of Famers, including Fred Couples, all in the field this week.
Daly's draw and ability to fill galleries means his absence is felt commercially as much as competitively on the senior tour. His representatives have not indicated when he will tee it up next, but the schedule offers little breathing room: the U.S. Senior Open qualifies in late June, with the U.S. Senior PGA Championship and Senior Open Championship lining up in July. Whether the rebuilt hand can hold up across that stretch remains the question that has shadowed his every comeback since the surgeries began.