Daniel Berger, who hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since 2022, is set to return at next week’s The American Express.
The tour announced the 156-player field Friday, and Berger was among the notable names in it.
Berger’s absence from professional golf has been lengthy, with a lower back injury sidelining him since the 2022 U.S. Open.
That ended a run of strong form for Berger, who won the last hole of the last singles match in the 2021 Ryder Cup to beat Matt Fitzpatrick and make the Americans the first team to register 19 points against Europe. He took a lengthy break after that event, telling the Associated Press last year that the back pain surfaced during it.
But he continued to play in 2022, racking up five top-20 finishes in 11 tour events before he missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Brookline.
He hasn’t played since. But that is set to change next week in La Quinta, California, where he’s in a field that includes 22 of the top 50 players in the world, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 5 Patrick Cantlay, No. 6 Xander Schauffele and No. 10 Wyndham Clark. Also, Justin Thomas will make his 2024 debut.
Berger, a four-time PGA Tour winner, was ranked as high as 12th in the world but has fallen to 634th.