John Daly’s PGA Tour ban to end

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John Daly’s PGA Tour suspension is over, and the two-time major champion plans to return in three weeks for the St. Jude Championship and US Open qualifying.

Daly was suspended for six months in November after a series of off-course incidents that brought negative publicity, the most recent a photo of him in an orange jail suit with his eyes half-closed after being locked up overnight in North Carolina to get sober.

He has played eight times overseas during his suspension, including a month in Europe, where he tied for second in the Italian Open.

“I know I’ll be ready to play,” Daly said at Wentworth last week, where he tied for 72nd at the BMW PGA Championship. “I’m not going to be [half-trying] like I’ve done in the past. I know I may not play the tour if something good doesn’t happen. It’s making me work harder.”

Daly hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the Buick Invitational five years ago, and he has not kept his card the last two years, having to rely on sponsor exemptions and tournaments where he won, such as the British Open and PGA Championship.

He said he has received a sponsor’s exemption to the St. Jude Championship on June 11-14 in Memphis, Tenn., near his home. Daly said he also has received an exemption from the Buick Open the last week in July, and he is hopeful of others.

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said the tour does not comment on player discipline; it never confirmed that Daly was suspended and now cannot confirm that a suspension has been lifted.

Daly told The Associated Press over the Christmas holidays that he had been suspended for the second time in his career, and he said he found out two weeks ago while playing in Ireland that he had been reinstated.

“I don’t really feel I deserved to be suspended,” Daly said. “But I’m not going to dwell on it. I’m going to turn it into a positive. I’m getting my life back in order and I’m more organised.”

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