Two-time major champion and fan favorite John Daly is scheduled to make his 2025 PGA Tour Champions debut at the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach on March 21. He’s also among the latest golfers to commit to the Galleri Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, the PGA Tour Champions event later this month in Rancho Mirage.
Daly is expected to be joined in the Galleri field by Notah Begay III, Boo Weekley and Billy Andrade for the third annual Galleri Classic March 26-30 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.
But before his Champions season begins, Daly weighed in on the current negotiations between stakeholders for the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (which owns LIV Golf) and the PGA Tour, saying simply that the situation needs to be fixed.
Daly appeared on the Newsmax show “Rob Schmitt Live” and said he has no problem with players playing on both tours, especially because of the workload it would entail.
“We’re obligated, we have to play in 15 events a year, on the PGA Tour,” Daly said. “Our Champions tour is a little less, but to keep our insurance and to keep our 401Ks, our retirement plans going. But you know, hey, if those guys want to go to LIV and they’re going to pay them a lot of money, you’re going to play 29 tournaments because you have to play 15 on our tour, and you got to play 14 on theirs. That’s the end of the solution. Let’s go play golf.
“Golf’s a global game and everybody should have the opportunity to play … You’re born, you live, and what is it for? To make sure you take care of your family. LIV Golf is taking care of some people’s families, and that’s the way I look at it.”
A five-time PGA Tour winner Daly first gained notoriety by winning the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate into the field and without playing a practice round. The improbable victory was the catalyst to his 1991 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year season. In 1995, Daly became the youngest active player on the PGA Tour to win two major championships when he captured the British Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Daly made 16 starts on the PGA Tour Champions in 2024, with his best finish a T-22 at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin. He played in two majors, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, withdrawing in both cases after posting opening rounds of 82.
He said he’s thankful the PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and President Donald Trump have been meeting to help bring the sides together.
“I just want Jay, and thank God that Daddy Trump is getting involved, because I want it to work out. Because I have friends on the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour, and I want them all to just play. The best players need to play.”
Larry Bohannan of the Palm Springs Desert Sun contributed reporting to this article.
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