Picture Credit: Getty Images
World number one Dustin Johnson has declared a clean bill of health ahead of this week's US PGA Championship despite withdrawing from last week's AT&T Byron Nelson. Johnson, who has finished runner-up at the past two US PGA Championships, withdrew in Texas last week with "knee discomfort".
The 2016 US Open and 2020 Masters winner had surgery on the knee in 2019, with the discomfort related to that.
However, Johnson insisted the knee "feels good" and he was ready for the US PGA Championship starting Thursday at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort in South Carolina.
"It just didn’t feel right," Johnson said on Thursday about his knee at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
"Everything was fine. Just got together with the doctor and physio down there [in South Florida] and put together a little bit of a plan to get a little bit stronger. It feels good, though."
The two-time PGA Championship runner-up said he was determined to take the next step at the event.
"It's definitely on the top of the list of things that I haven't accomplished and something that I really would like to do," he said.
"It would be great obviously to do it here in my home state. I've got a lot of friends and family and a lot of support here, so I'm really looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, last year's US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau said he will "unleash the beast" at this week's event on the longest course in major championship history.
The 27-year-old world number five is known for his driving distance and will look to capitalise on that at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort in South Carolina.
The Ocean Course stretches to 7,876 yards (7,202m) and DeChambeau said it represented his most "difficult test" since bulking up last year to aid his drive.
"With regards to the golf course and the wind, this is the most difficult test since I transformed my body," DeChambeau said.
"The launch conditions when you are hitting it 150, 160, 170 feet in the air, it's not going to go anywhere."
He added: "This golf course is a beast. Hopefully, I can unleash the beast, but you never know. I may hit it right or left, I don't know. But I'd say for the most part you have to hit it pretty straight out here, even though I'm hitting it pretty far."
DeChambeau finished fourth at last year's PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Ten holes at the Ocean Course are exposed to unpredictable winds of the Atlantic, adding a further challenge for the American.
"My length is an advantage, but if I can hit it straight this week in this wind and control the golf ball and control the flight of it, that'll be my biggest advantage," he said.