Daly to play in Fort Smith Classic

Guess who’s coming to play?

Professional golfer John Daly has accepted a sponsor exemption to compete in the Fort Smith Classic scheduled for June 14-20 at Hardscrabble Country Club.

The Fort Smith event, now in its 13th year, is part of the PGA’s Nationwide Tour.

“John Daly moves the needle more than any PGA TOUR player. That fact alone plus popularity in Arkansas could net charitable contributions to area non-profits more than any other year in history with the Fort Smith Classic,” said Patricia Brown, executive director of the Fort Smith Classic.
 
Brown said the Daly’s decision should see ticket sales boom.

In addition to competing in the Fort Smith Classic, Daly is scheduled to perform on stage with Charlie Daniels at 6:30 p.m., June 17 as part of the Cox Community Concert at Fort Smith River Park.

According to a Fort Smith Classic statement, his will be the first time the two-time major champion has played in a Nationwide Tour event since the Yuma Open in February 1991. Six months later, Daly won his first PGA Tour title, the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana. In the Nationwide Tour’s first year, 1990, Daly competed in 19 events, winning the Utah Classic and finishing runner-up three times. He finished ninth on the money list.

The former University of Arkansas Razorback has played in eight PGA Tour events this year, making five cuts. Since his first year on the PGA Tour in 1991, he has played in 426 PGA Tour events, garnering five wins and career earnings of more than $9.2 million. He won his second major championship, the British Open, in 1995.

There was no word as to if he would be wearing those gawd-awful looking pants while competing in the Fort Smith Classic.