Witness: Daly stopped breathing for 3 minutes after collapse
John Daly is lucky to be alive after he collapsed Saturday during a Jackson, Miss., area golf tournament.
Daly passed out on the 18th hole at Deefield Golf Club while competing in a small event, including several friends. He was eventually taken to nearby Baptist Medical Center and treated for a collapsed lung, but, in the initial moments after the collapse, Daly was not breathing.
“I had my arm around him when he went down. He had no pulse and wasn’t breathing for close to three minutes,” said playing partner Will Dottley, according to Golf Channel. “It was kind of a miracle.”
Dottley said a nurse in the gallery performed CPR on Daly.
Daly’s agent, Bud Martin, said Daly’s injury was partially the result of a rib injury he suffered in 2007 at the Honda Classic, when Daly had to stop his swing on the 12th hole of the first round when a female fan, according to Daly, stepped out in front of him mid-swing to snap a picture of the two-time major winner. Witnesses and playing partners said Daly had been struggling in the 90-degree heat on the course and had appeared in poor condition before the incident.
However, after Daly was released on Sunday morning, he returned to the course to finish the tournament.
The 49-year-old is eligible to compete on the Champions Tour, reserved for players who are 50 and older, in April 2016.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
