The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Snedekerreadytogetthingsoffhischest
Brandt Snedeker will make his first appearance since June in the RSM Classic in Sea Island but admits he is still in pain from the chest injury which ruined his season.
Snedeker is suffering from a bone spur on his sternum which left him struggling to breathe before a practice round at home in the build-up to the Open championship.
Snedeker said: “I went out there on the range, I hit about five balls and I couldn’t breathe. We got to the point where the doctors were like, ‘We need to figure out if we have this licked or if we need to do something different’.
“I’ve been playing at home but there’s only so much I can do at home before I can see if I can handle five days in a row, uneven lies, rough, bunkers. I can do it fine at home but out here it’s always a bit different.”
Snedeker attempted to play at Royal Birkdale and in the Wyndham championship four weeks later but withdrew from both and did not touch a club for nearly 10 weeks.
The former FedEx Cup champion has been forced to make changes to his swing and posture to alleviate pressure on the joint.
“I have some arthritis and inflammation in the joint,” he added. “Anyone who has ever had that knows it can be nagging and awful because the more you use it, the worse it gets. Unfortunately, that’s where my problem has got to.”
Snedeker will partner former world number one Luke Donald and Sea Island resident Matt Kuchar in the first two rounds, with defending champion Mackenzie Hughes and 2015 winner Kevin Kisner alongside Patton Kizzire, winner of last week’s OHL Classic.
“Ihitabout fiveballsandI couldn’tbreathe”