Colin Montgomerie will play in his first US Open since 2008 this week after declaring himself fit.
Montgomerie felt discomfort after completing his third round of the Constellation Senior Players Championship on Saturday and took himself to Massachusetts General Hospital the following morning.
After undergoing tests and scans the 51-year-old was able to return to the course in time to play his final round and he went on to finish in a tie for third, nine shots behind winner Bernhard Langer.
"Far too many five-foot putts to be holed over my career finally took their toll," Montgomerie joked ahead of a practice round at Chambers Bay on Tuesday.
"I thought it was prudent to get checked out. When you're on your own in a hotel room you start thinking, but I got it checked out and they are bloody good over here. They tested everything and apparently I'm all right to miss more five-footers now."
Montgomerie has famously never won a regular major title in his career, with three of his record five runner-up finishes coming in the US Open.
However, the Scot's victory in the US Senior Open last year secured his place at Chambers Bay and the former Ryder Cup captain also successfully defended his Senior PGA title last month to qualify for the US PGA in August.
"It's fantastic," Montgomerie added. "You feel these days are behind you and it's great to be playing here and Whistling Straits again this year and I'm going to go home and try to qualify for the Open as well.
"If I qualify (for St Andrews) at Woburn that would be my eighth major of the year. Now there's a stat."
Montgomerie was getting his first taste of Chambers Bay on Tuesday but was pleased to hear the mixed reviews of the links-style course and the hard, dry conditions.
"It might be one of these strange situations where someone like myself, a shorter hitter compared to the bombers, can manoeuvre it round as well as a bomber can," he added.
"A lot of people have said 'Oh my God' which I like, because it means they are not in the right frame of mind to do well, so let's be positive.
"I'm hitting the ball fine. You can't beat the likes of Bernhard Langer, Kenny Perry, Davis Love, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Fred Couples if your game isn't tight. It's great competition and I'm loving it."
Watch the US Open all week on Sky Sports 4 - coverage from Chambers Bay starts on Thursday at 5:00pm.