SWINDON'S David Howell has declared himself fit and ready to tackle his first major championship in two years after suffering a last-minute injury scare.

The Broome Manor pro admitted last week that he was in a race against time to make the start of the US Open on Thursday due to an ingrown toenail.

However, the big toe on Howell's right foot has responded well to treatment and he was due to fly across the pond yesterday to begin preparations for one of the golfing calendar's highlights at Merion.

“The toe is all good now,” said the former world number nine.

“My chiropodist did a really good job and I hit some balls on Friday and it seemed to have settled down, so in terms of next week it's panic over.

“I'd say it's fine, quite miraculously actually. On Tuesday night the weight of the duvet on my big toe was very painful, but now I'm pain-free.

“I think the chiropodist got to the crux of the problem and after three or four days of recovery, I seemed to be OK.

“On Thursday I putted for 10 minutes and on Friday I hit a few shots, but I was still taking it easy because I wanted to be 100 per cent sure I was fine.”

Tee times for the Pennsylvania event were revealed over the weekend with Howell due off at 12.45pm local time on Thursday (5.45pm BST), alongside American sectional qualifiers Justin Hicks and Brian Stuard.

On Friday the trio are the first on the course at 6.45am local time (11.45am BST).

The last major championship that Howell competed in was the US Open in 2011, when coincidentally he was hampered by toe problems.