Daniel Berger gives back full bill of health
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LAHAINA, HAWAII - JANUARY 08: Daniel Berger of the United States plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on January 08, 2022 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Four-time PGA TOUR winner Daniel Berger has recovered from a joint sprain in his lower back to take his place at the WM Phoenix Open, a week after withdrawing from his title defense at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Speaking on a live Twitter Spaces hosted by GolfBet, the 28-year-old said his absence from Pebble Beach was hard to swallow but was needed to clear any long-term concerns on his health.
“It's always tough to not be able to defend a tournament that you won and that you love so much but I didn't feel healthy enough to compete for four days,” Berger said during practice at TPC Scottsdale.
“I took the time that I didn’t play and I worked on my body and I got the treatment and did the stuff in the gym that I needed to do and I'm thankful for it because now I feel better and I'm ready to go.”
Berger revealed he suffered a sacroiliac (SI) joint sprain, the part of the body that links the lower spine to the pelvis, earlier this year and played through it at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open. He battled to a T20 finish in San Diego coming off a T5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui.
“That (playing on at Torrey) kind of made it worse and that's why it was a big decision that I didn't play last week because I didn't want to make it worse than it already was,” he added.
“You have a long season ahead of you and you have to think about events in the future and I didn't want to do something that was going to make it harder for me to come back in the weeks going ahead... But I'm glad I'm back now.”
Berger has four previous finishes inside the top 11 at TPC Scottsdale in seven appearances.