Former World No.12 Daniel Berger is close to a return to action after almost a year away from the game with a back injury, per the Golf Channel.
The American hasn’t made a start since the 2022 US Open at The Country Club of Brookline, when he missed the cut. However, after a frustrating spell on the sidelines, the 30-year-old is scheduled to compete in final qualifying for the this year's tournament on 5 June at Pine Tree Golf Club in Florida.
Berger had already been struggling with the injury as he teed it up in the third Major of the year last June. The 30-year-old first noticed an issue during that January’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, where, despite the problem, he finished tied for fifth.
He battled on for several more months, and collected two more top-five finishes, at the Honda Classic and The Memorial Tournament, before finally deciding to step away after the US Open.
In early May, Berger explained to the Associated Press how intense the pain had become during that time. He said: “That was the worst six months of my life. I’ve had a pretty easy life. I play golf for a living - it’s not that stressful. But there was a point that I would have given up golf for the rest of my life not to feel like that.”
He also explained that it was apparent the injury was not improving around the time of The Masters that April. He explained: “I kept playing through it. It got to the point right around Augusta where I couldn’t sit down, I couldn’t do normal activities, I couldn’t play tennis. I need to see someone about it.”
Finally, over two months later, he admitted defeat. He said: “I played that tournament and told myself, ‘This is it.’ And then I tried to play the US Open. I was taking two ice baths a day to get on the course.”
After rest didn't improve his back, Berger sought help from a Canadian professor specialising in biometrics of the spine, Stuart McGill, who discovered a deep bone sensistivity. He gave Berger a program to follow and finally began making progress.
The injury could barely have come at a worse time for Berger, with his career on an upward trajectory. He claimed his fourth PGA Tour win in February 2021 and finished tied for eighth at the Open Championship in July that year. Two months later he also impressed in Team USA’s Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits. Also, after reaching a career-high of World No.12 in October 2020, he remained inside the world’s top 20 throughout 2021.
Thanks to that layoff, Berger is now World No.146. However, with his injury problems apparently close to being behind him, he will be confident of climbing the world rankings sooner rather than later, particularly if he qualifies for the third Major of the year.
Other players of note competing in final qualifying will be LIV Golf's Matthew Wolff and Carlos Ortiz.
