Jim Furyk, although not swinging at his best, is ready to tee off in Thursday's opening round at the US PGA Championship at Southern Hills after recovering from a back injury.

The American world number two pulled out of last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, after experiencing pain during practice.

"My whole determination was whether or not I had enough motion and the ability to make the swing I wanted to," Furyk said.

"I have that ability. I'm not swinging like I want to but I have the ability to. Physically, I'm in a pretty good state right now but I had a really tough go of it last week. I was in a lot of pain and quite stiff."

One of the hottest players in the game over the last two months, Furyk said he had also considered withdrawing from this week's tournament shortly after arriving at Southern Hills.

"When I got here, the travel hurt," the 13-times PGA Tour winner said.

"I was trying to do a little bit more work as far as hitting longer clubs and trying to play nine holes took its toll. I was reverting back and I was pretty iffy about my chances.

"Last night, I went into the [fitness] trailer and received some treatment. A joint in my upper back was really stiff and not really mobile but it was able to be adjusted.

"I went from being pretty miserable and not really being able to make the movement in the swing that I wanted to, to actually finding a lot of relief. I was one happy person last night."

Furyk, who won the Canadian Open two weeks ago, has bitter-sweet feelings going into the 89th PGA Championship.

Known for his accuracy from tee to green, the unorthodox-swinging American is ideally suited to the tree-lined Southern Hills layout with its multiple dog-leg holes but accepts he is short of his best form.

"I think this golf course would really suit my game," the 2003 US Open champion said. "I pride myself on being able to manoeuvre the golf ball and power is not going to come into play here.

"Being aggressive is not going to be a smart play on most holes off the tee. In most instances, that would kind of even me up on the field and possibly give me an advantage.

"But I really don't feel that well about my game."

Reuters