Dustin Johnson apparently attempted to come back from minor surgery on his right knee a little too soon.
He withdrew from the Humana Challenge presented by the Clinton Foundation on Friday, citing back pain, after playing nine holes of the second round at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif.
It doesn’t appear the former Coastal Carolina University All-American and Myrtle Beach resident put much of his season in jeopardy, however. He said he still intends to play the Farmers Insurance Open next week at Torrey Pines.
“My knee is okay, I’m not worried about it,” Johnson told reporters before he left the course Friday.
Johnson believes the back pain resulted from the way he was walking, possibly favoring his right knee.
Johnson had arthroscopic surgery on the knee to repair cartilage damage in November, and he hadn’t walked a full 18 holes before Thursday’s first round. He said his lower back was extremely stiff and painful at the time of his withdrawal.
The world’s No. 8 player was the highest-ranked competitor in Palm Springs this week. He shot an even-par 72 on the Palmer Course on Thursday.
Johnson skipped the PGA Tour’s first two events of the season in Hawaii and initially planned to return to competitive golf at Torrey Pines next week. But he missed the game and thought he was ready for an early return, and decided late last week to enter the Humana.
The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Johnson has collected two of his five PGA Tour wins, is in three weeks, from Feb. 9-12.
