Sticky moment for Daly

DUTCH OPEN: John Daly is hoping not to come unstuck in this week's Dutch Open at Hilversum after using superglue on a hand injury.

Daly yesterday revealed he had played the last 13 holes of his second round of the British Open at Muirfield "basically one-handed" after injuring his right hand playing a shot from the rough.

The 36-year-old had the hand X-rayed on his arrival in Holland on Saturday and found the source of the pain was a piece of glass that had been embedded for years in a bone just above the knuckle of his first finger.

The glass was removed and the wound stitched, but when the stitches came undone during a practice round, Daly resorted to his very own brand of running repairs.

"I don't care, I'm not going to watch it bleed!" Daly explained. "I hit a shot on the fifth hole at the Open on Friday and if felt like somebody just stabbed a knife through my finger.

"I played basically the last 13 holes one-handed, I was in so much pain. It might have been one of the best rounds I ever played, I was hitting it so solid even though it was pretty hard to get feeling on chip shots.

"I saw a doctor here on Saturday night and he found a piece of glass that had been there for years, I can't remember how it got there. I must have jarred it and dislodged it when I played the shot in the rough.

"He cut it open and took out the glass, but I played 11 holes today and my right hand just started bleeding really badly.

"I put superglue on top of it so hopefully that will stop the bleeding. If it doesn't work I'm going to have to get it restitched. The stitches came out the other day and that's what really hurts."

Unsurprisingly, Daly missed the cut at Muirfield following rounds of 74 and 77, but he was happy to stay on in Europe and is one of the star attractions in a strong field at Hilversum.

Ryder Cup team-mates Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Lee Westwood and Bernhard Langer are all competing for the first prize of £193,000, along with Nick Faldo, Retief Goosen, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

Langer is defending the title he won last year at Noordwijkse, his 40th European Tour title effectively securing his place in the Ryder Cup despite a limited playing schedule in Europe.

"It meant a lot to win last year, my first for four years," the 44-year-old German said. "I played well in the Open at Lytham the week before (finishing joint third), and took the form with me.

"I had a strong finish with birdies at three of the last four holes (before beating Kent's Warren Bennett in a play-off), but just to win was very exciting because you start doubting yourself if it has been a while.

"And of course to get the points for the Ryder Cup was very important because it was very difficult from a limited schedule."

The Ryder Cup should have taken place shortly after Langer's win last year, but the competition was postponed until this September in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States.

That has led to concerns over the form of some of the players in Sam Torrance's 12-man team, and some calls for the teams to be expanded to include in-form players.

But Langer is not concerned about the playing form of the likes of Westwood, Pierre Fulke or McGinley as the contest at the Belfry grows nearer.

"You have some guys in very good form and you have two or three who are not playing as well as they were 12 months ago," admitted Langer.

"But all that can change in two months. The American team might have a couple who are struggling too so hopefully that will even itself out."

Langer is among the early starters in today's first round at Hilversum, followed by Daly and Faldo in quick succession.