Daly risks injury to play in Moscow

NAKHABINO, Russia, July 24 (Reuters) - Twice major winner John Daly is defying doctors' advice and risking serious injury to play in the Russian Open this week.

The 42-year-old American played at last week's British Open, the tournament he won in 1995, despite a painful elbow injury before flying into Moscow to make his first appearance at the Russian Open.

"It's hurting pretty bad, but luckily the ground here is soft so I can get through the ball," Daly said after shooting a two-under-par 70, five strokes behind early leader Joakim Backstrom of Sweden in the first round on Thursday.

"That wasn't possible last week. If the course had been hard this week I probably wouldn't have been able to play."

Describing his opening day performance, Daly said: "I had some bad shots and some decent ones and then made a few putts coming down the stretch so I am not too disappointed.

"It's probably the best that I could have got considering how badly I hit it at times.

"I probably hit two of the worst iron shots that I have ever shot on tour. They just went dead right off the tee on two of the par threes. I made a good bogey on one of them and just missed my par on the other.

"But I hope to get it better. We'll come back tomorrow and see what happens."

'RISK-REWARD ELEMENT'

Despite the injury, Daly said he was enjoying his first visit to Russia while trying to make the most of his rare appearances on the European Tour.

"It's a great tournament and it's great to see Russia getting into golf," he told Reuters after signing his scorecard.

"The golf course here is wonderful and the players are treated really well here. The scoring is going to be low because the course is in such good shape."

The 1991 U.S. PGA champion said the course at the Moscow Country Club in suburban Nakhabino compared favourably with some tournaments in the United States.

"It's a very good event. I love the fact that you have the option of hitting a lot of drivers or irons off the tee. We don't get that opportunity too much at home," he said.

"It's great to see the fairways running right up to the greens because back home the fairways tend to run out on us.

"That's why I like the European Tour, they have more traditional courses where you can hit what club you want off the tees on the par fours or fives. There is a great risk-reward element to this course." (Editing by Rex Gowar)