Jason Dufner hopes to simply complete 72 holes in the defence of his US PGA title and secure his place on the US Ryder Cup team.
Dufner had an epidural last week to ease the pain caused by two bulging discs in his neck and admits he needs to take up to two months off, but knows his Ryder Cup place is not secure.
The 37-year-old is eighth in the standings with the top nine on Sunday evening qualifying automatically for Tom Watson’s team to contest the biennial event at Gleneagles at the end of September.
Yesterday he said: “I’ll probably take six to eight weeks off. I’m not sure when that’s going to be possible, but I’ll get through it.
“I’m hoping this week I’ll be able to feel a little bit better, get through 72 holes. Defending my title is pretty important to me and being on the Ryder Cup. I’m right on the edge of those points and there’s a lot of points this week.
“I’m not going to qualify if I don’t make some points this week. I seriously doubt I would be a captain’s selection with an injury if I didn’t play, so I kind of need to suck it up and make some points and try and get healthy.
“I think if I were to make the team after this week, I think I could be healthy by the time the Ryder Cup rolls around.”
That could mean skipping all four FedEx Cup Playoff events, but Dufner added: “Mr Watson may feel uncomfortable, but I would not feel uncomfortable taking the Playoffs off if I needed and trying to be healthy for the Ryder Cup.
“There’s been many times where I’ve taken a four or five-week absence from tournament play and come in and felt comfortable with my game.”
Change of dates for PGA
Meanwhile, golf’s return to the Olympics has forced a change of dates in the 2016 championship, with just one week between the Open and the PGA Championship .
The US PGA will move from its traditional August date for the first time since 1971, and will be staged at Baltusrol in New Jersey from July 28-31. The Open will be held at Royal Troon from July 14-17.
Dates for 2016 Ryder Cup are yet to be announced.
