(REUTERS) - Two-time Major winner John Daly said on Monday (Aug 3) that concerns about his health amid the Covid-19 pandemic had prompted his decision to withdraw from this week's PGA Championship.

Daly, known as "Wild Thing" during his heyday on the PGA Tour, withdrew on Sunday from the Aug 6-9 event, one of golf's four Majors, which will be played at San Francisco's TPC Harding Park without spectators.

The 54-year-old, who won the event in 1991, is one of several players, including former world No. 1 Lee Westwood and Italy's Francesco Molinari, to decide not to play.

"People keep asking why I (withdrew) from PGA???" Daly said on Twitter.

"California now #1 in cases/deaths, I had knee surgery, I'm a diabetic & I don't feel comfortable flying.

"Being too close proximity to even small crowds & risk exposure with my health not worth it!"

The tweet marked a shift in tone from April when he joked about vodka and Diet Coke being a "cure" for Covid-19.

He later said he meant no harm with his comment.