John Daly Risks Life to Play Russian Open

If I've said it once, I've said it ... well, once: John Daly seems like the type of player who would risk injury to play tournament golf. Actually, nothing seems further from the truth, even though JD one-armed his way around Royal Birkdale last week to a scintillating second-round 89.

Whatever, it wasn't enough to keep him out of this week's Russian Open.

The 42-year-old American played at last week's British Open, the tournament he won in 1995, despite a painful elbow injury before flying into Moscow to make his first appearance at the Russian Open.

"It's hurting pretty bad, but luckily the ground here is soft so I can get through the ball," Daly said after shooting a two-under-par 70, five strokes behind early leader Joakim Backstrom of Sweden in the first round on Thursday.

Reuters' Gennady Fyodorov writes that Daly, in defying doctors' advice, is "risking serious injury."

Yeah, unless "risking serious injury" is a euphemism for "so hungover he's a threat to himself and others," I'm not sure how a sore arm could be such a big deal. I suppose it could come flying off after a shot off hardpan or something, but I'm not convinced Daly's a better player with two arms, anyway.

I mean, he looked more focused than ever during that Friday round at the British Open (the results say otherwise, but it's a whole process). Plus, if he has to "Pete Gray" his way around the course, it'll be nearly impossible for him to get housed. Well, unless he gets one of these which, if we're being honest, would surprise exactly no one.

Meanwhile, here's to hoping Daly can string together a few solid rounds without losing a limb. That would be a good start for a guy who's had a pretty rough '08.