Daly, who works with swing coach Rick Smith who has an academy at the North Naples course, announced Tuesday he plans to play in
the Australian Open from Dec. 3-6, and the Australian PGA Championship from Dec. 10-13. The Merrill Lynch Shootout, founded and hosted by Greg Norman, is Dec. 9-13 at Tiburon. “I am looking forward to returning to play the 2009 Australian Open and am particularly excited about playing the course at La Perouse for the first time. I have heard so many great things about the course,” Daly said in a statement. Daly has played in 11 of the 20 Shootouts: 1992, 1995-99, 2001, 2004-2007. Only Norman, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Brad Faxon, Scott Hoch, Peter Jacobsen and Mark O’Meara have played more. Daly’s best finish was second with Frank Lickliter in 2001, the first year the two-person team event was played at Tiburon. Daly worked on his game with Smith at Tiburon this spring, and rejoined the tour in June. He withdrew from the PGA Championship last week after a first-round 78 due to a back injury. He said the injury occurred three years ago while trying to stop mid-swing when he heard the sound of a camera as he was taking a shot. Tickets for this year’s Shootout are scheduled to go on sale Oct. 5. The Player Pass, formerly known as A Taste of WCI, is on sale now for $110 and includes a weekly grounds pass to the 2009 Merrill Lynch Shootout, 48 golf vouchers on 12 championship courses (4 vouchers per course), and Greg Norman Collection discounts. Call 1-888-66-SHARK or visit mlshootout.com. Daly recently returned to the PGA Tour following a six-month suspension for several off-course incidents. He played mostly in Europe during the six-month suspension. σ2 σ2 σ2
Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples was listed as 28th in the rankings, which include courses worldwide.