Daly recovered from surgery; will play in U.S., Australia

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SYDNEY (AP) -- John Daly will play in the Australian Open and Australian PGA golf tournaments in December after recovering more quickly than expected from a rib injury.

The two-time major winner said Wednesday he was reversing a decision announced in September to withdraw from the Australian tournaments. A swift recovery has allowed him to return to competitive golf earlier than expected.

"My recovery from stem cell surgery has been closely monitored by my doctor, and I have been cleared to begin playing competitively in two weeks," Daly said in a statement.

"As such, I have added the Viking Classic to my 2009 U.S. schedule plus have accepted invitations to play in the 2009 Australian Open and 2009 Australian PGA Championship.

"I regret the confusion the injury process has caused, but I'm relieved things have begun moving in the right direction."

Daly will play in the Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club at La Perouse in Sydney from Dec. 3-6, in a field that will include Greg Norman and defending champion Tim Clark.

A week later, he will join three-time major winner Vijay Singh and defending champion Geoff Ogilvy in the Australian PGA at the Hyatt Regency Coolum course in Queensland state.

During his trip to Australia last year, Daly missed three consecutive cuts.