Earlier this year, John Daly had expressed his struggles with health as he took the field in the Champions Tour. He had expressed how his bad back has limited his ability to practice efficiently to perform better in tournaments. Speaking about his challenges, Long John said, “I’ve never been able to really be able to practice the way I want to practice. I can’t hit 400 wedges from 100 yards anymore. Can’t say on the putting green and hit 500 putts, you know, cause my back, it’s all bad.” Reports of the Wild Thing skipping a Seniors Tour event and the 2025 PGA Championship also made the headlines. Apparently, he wasn’t fit enough to play in either of the tournaments due to the nagging back pain. Interestingly, he is not the only one who has spoken up about the struggles of the Senior Tour.

Playing in his 27th PGA Tour Champions event, Cameron Percy has made the cut in all the previous 26 tournaments he has played. Because the Principal Charity Classic doesn’t have a cut, he is on the verge of making it 27 in 27. He is also 1 stroke off the top of the table, which is being led by Miguel Angel Jiménez. Yet, there is something that’s troubling the Australian right now. Sitting down in the post-round press conference for the event, Percy revealed what challenges he faces as he continues his pursuit of victory.

After the outstanding round that saw him score 8-under par 64, one of the reporters asked him, “What’s been clicking for you?” A simple question that often leads to an elaborate and passionate answer. But the journalist might not have expected what Percy had to say in response.

The veteran golfer said, “I’ve got something wrong with my hip, I’ve got a bone spur, it turns out, just found out. It’s been killing me for two years. I’ve had an injection and I don’t feel pain now. So, at least when I swing, I don’t feel pain, so I’m just swinging freely. It’s amazing how golf is when you’re not in agony. So I don’t know how long it will last, it could last until tomorrow and then I’ll be in agony again, but definitely I think — I had a cortisone injection in my hip and I’m not in pain right now, so I feel like I’m swinging pretty freely and it’s really freed me up.”

It seems that the secret behind Percy’s amazing run is a pain-free hip. As he mentioned, he has to deal with The Titan’s Curse (old age ailments) often, and the injection has only ‘freed him up’ for the weekend. However, painkillers also wear out eventually, and the golfer from down under doesn’t know when he will face the terrors again. Might be tomorrow, might be on Sunday, but the hip pain might affect his performance as he pushes for the first title win of his career this weekend.

While we don’t know how the 51-year-old will perform for the remainder of the week, we still have a lot to cherish from his 8-under par 64 on Friday.

Cameron Percy (Jackson?) steals the lightning and Jiménez’s thunder

In the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Cameron Percy was unfortunate to lose his best shot at capturing a PGA Tour title. He and Martin Laird were outdone by Jonathan Byrd, who scored an ace on the par-3 hole in the playoffs to win the title. From then till today, the 51-year-old has not won a single professional event. However, he is a firm favorite to break the record at the ongoing 2025 Principal Charity Classic.

Miguel Angel Jiménez is undoubtedly dominating the field at the Wakonda Club in Iowa this week. He scored 8 birdies and an eagle after starting the first round with a bogey. That has propelled him to the top of the table with a 9-under par 63. However, the 61-year-old couldn’t ward off the threat from Cameron Percy.

Driving longer and scrambling better, Percy also managed to accumulate 8 birdies and an eagle, imitating his rival on the Des Moines-based course. Unfortunately, the 51-year-old Senior Tour star also bagged 2 bogeys to drop down to +8.

As they go toe to toe in the next couple of rounds, it will be interesting to see if Cameron Percy can maintain his performance and overtake Jiménez to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in his 27-year career.