Brooks Koepka said he can play through the pain in his bid for a third US PGA Championship but a full recovery from a knee injury remains months away.
Koepka has been plagued by injuries since winning back-to-back PGA Championships in 2019 and a fourth major title in three years.
The American star underwent knee surgery in March, having won the Phoenix Open, and he has missed the cut in his past two events, including last month's Masters.
As Koepka gears up for Thursday's opening round at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina, the 31-year-old acknowledged his knee is still problematic but he is ready to play.
"I feel like I can hit every shot. It's not like Augusta where I'm trying to figure out what's the best line to walk instead of figuring out. Now I can actually hit golf shots and understand what's going on," Koepka, who has been paired alongside Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy told reporters on Tuesday.
"For a while it was just I neglected putting just to see if I could hit shots, because if I can't hit shots I can't play. No point in that. No, I got everything under control and know what I'm doing. Last week was a good test just to see where I'm at for two days.
"I thought if I got four, it would be nice, but two days of rest didn't hurt me."
Asked for a timeline for him to be fully healthy, Koepka replied: "We're talking probably another six months."
"If I beat that, I'm doing something good," he continued. "I mean, I can play. You're never 100 per cent, that's the thing. For two straight years it's been left knee, right knee, herniated a disc in my neck, played in Tampa or wherever we were, played through that. I dealt with that all the way through Palm Springs.
"I can deal with the pain. That's not an issue. It's just a matter of being able to hit shots that I want to hit and do things I want to do, and I'm starting to be able to do that. Even though I'm not 100 per cent, I can still hit the shots."
Koepka added: "Every day has been a long day. Starting from just the training to the rehab, everything seems to take an hour, hour and a half longer, more attention to detail of what I'm doing off the golf course, make sure I'm doing -- I seem to get hurt in a bunch of freaky instances.
"It's just one of those things where you've just got to move past it and take it one day at a time."
Woods undergoes back surgery after difficult 2024 season
Tiger Woods has undergone surgery to address the back spasms and pain that hampered him throughout 2024.
Woods has struggled for fitness throughout the last few years, having suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash in 2021.
He appeared at all four majors this year but missed the cut at three of those events, also finishing 60th at the Masters, while illness forced him to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February.
The 15-time major champion has also undergone several surgeries on his back throughout the last decade, and he revealed on Friday that another procedure was required to rectify issues that plagued him this season.
"Earlier this morning Tiger underwent micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back," read a statement posted to Woods' X account.
"Dr Sheeraz Qureshi of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the surgery and deemed it successful."
Woods added: "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.
"I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal activities, including golf."
Rahm sets sights on Ryder Cup but refuses to pay DP World Tour fines
Jon Rahm has no intention of paying the fines dealt his way by the DP World Tour, as he reiterated his desire to play at the Ryder Cup.
Rahm, who starred as Europe beat the United States in Rome last year to regain the Ryder Cup, moved to LIV Golf in February.
The Spaniard's participation in next year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in New York, remains in doubt.
Rahm was slapped with fines for playing in LIV tournaments that clashed with DP World Tour events without having requested permission.
If he does not play in three more DP World Tour tournaments before the end of the season in November, he will not be eligible to play at the Ryder Cup.
However, despite Rahm entering the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, he will be unable to play until he pays his fines, something the 29-year-old does not plan on doing.
"I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen," he said.
"I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing."
Former European captain Padraig Harrington has limited sympathy for Rahm.
"I'm a stickler for the rules," he said.
"I'm friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that's just the way it is. The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour.
"The European Tour doesn't have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.
"It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup but if the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he's not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can't forget that person."
McIlroy hoping for 'solution' to latest PGA-PIF talks
Rory McIlroy hopes there will be a "solution" from this week's scheduled talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Tiger Woods is reportedly among a number of PGA Tour representatives in New York for discussions with representatives from PIF, which funds the LIV Golf tour.
Negotiations for a deal that would inject over $1billion from PIF into PGA Tour Enterprises - launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group as the new for-profit entity - began over a year ago,
McIlroy recently revealed his frustration at the lack of progress, but is hopeful the ongoing issues will soon be resolved.
"I think everyone in the game would love there to be one [a resolution]," the world number three told BBC Sport NI.
"A solution is hard to get to because there are different interests and people want different things. There's going to have to be compromise on both sides but hopefully they're the things they're talking about in those meetings.
"I'm hopeful and hopefully we'll be hear some good news in the foreseeable future where things start to come back together."
McIlroy was speaking ahead of this week's Irish Open at Royal County Down, where he hopes to deal with the pressure of performing on home soils.
"I've had to learn over the years how to manage my week when I come home," he added. "I'm trying so hard to perform in front of the home fans, but then if I push too hard, it's detrimental to my game.
"It's about managing all those emotions and getting lost in my own little world, and not trying to do anything I wouldn't normally do.
"Just go out there and play the best golf that I can and not get too frustrated when things don't go my way. If I can do that then I think I'll be OK.
"It would be extra special [to win here]. After everything that went on this summer and being so close to winning the US Open and being close at the Olympics as well, it would be a nice way to forget about those things and move on."
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