Brooks Koepka revealed it could be another six months before he gets back to full fitness, but he does not foresee any physical difficulties in tackling Kiawah Island at this week's PGA Championship.
Koepka continues to be hampered by an injury to his right knee, on which he underwent surgery in March but still opted to play at the Masters barely less than four weeks afterwards.
The former world No 1 struggled to negotiate the long, undulating fairways at Augusta National and missed the halfway cut, and he again failed to make the weekend when he returned to action at last week's AT&T Byron Nelson.
The South Course at Kiawah Island is set to be the longest ever used in a major championship, although the flatter terrain and weeks of rehab have left Koepka more confident about contending for a third PGA title, two years after he won his second at Bethpage Black.
Koepka insisted the course sets up well for his long game, but he does have concerns over his putting after admitting that was an area he neglected while his focus was on his knee rehab.
"I feel like I can hit every shot," said Koepka. "It's not like Augusta where I'm trying to figure out what's the best line to walk. Now I can actually hit golf shots and understand what's going on.
"But for a while I neglected my putting just to see if I could hit shots, because if I can't hit shots I can't play. No point in that. I've 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 rounds in, it would be nice, but two days of rest didn't hurt me. Last week was just making sure I could walk the golf course without pain. So I checked that one off, and I can swing no problem from different lies, different situations, and it was fine. So I was very pleased with that."
Koepka also insisted his decision to play at the Masters did not cause any setbacks with his recovery, and he is determined to declare himself 100 per cent fit ahead of the six-month timeline given to him by his medical advisors.
"Augusta didn't set me back, I was fine," he added. "Just for my own satisfaction, I wanted to play. I was determined to do it. That was the goal all along, and I was able to do it. Obviously I didn't play the way I wanted to.
"It's not fun when you can't do the thing you know you're capable of, but just to be out there, it was mentally satisfying. Nobody knows what I went through for those four weeks weeks. Every time I was doing something, I just envisioned myself playing at Augusta."
Asked for his own timeline on being fully fit after doctors predicted "another six months", he replied: "If I beat that, I'm doing something good. 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, and 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.
"It's pretty flat here and, like I said, it's a million times better so it makes it so much easier. I don't foresee any issues. I still have days where it sucks, when my knee just doesn't feel good waking up and it's not going to feel good all day, but those are getting less and less.
"That would be the only instance where I see it being kind of an issue, if I just woke up one day and it's in a bad spot or just feels terrible. I've had one of those in the last month, so I'll take it."