Can Troy Merritt play the PGA days after emergency surgery? ‘It’s going to be tough.’

Troy Merritt’s victory last month at the Barbasol Championship earned him a spot in the PGA Championship.

Now unexpected surgery might take it away.

Merritt underwent emergency surgery Friday in Boise to relieve a blood clot in an arm, he told pgatour.com. The Meridian resident and former Boise State star is trying to play in the PGA Championship anyway. The final major of the season begins Thursday.

“I’m trying to be ready for Thursday, but it’s going to be tough,” Merritt told the Idaho Statesman on Monday via text.

Merritt told PGATour.com that he probably won’t practice much.

“I’ll go to the course; I might be able to hit a few putts,” he said Saturday. “I’m not in pain, but I can’t move my arm very much.”

Merritt dealt with swelling in the arm for about a month, he told pgatour.com. The swelling got worse during a week off at home and he saw a doctor.

“I could hit a golf ball, so I kept playing,” he said. “But this last week it swelled up so much so that there was no way I could’ve played, so I guess it was good timing to take the week off and get it taken care of.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 4:51 PM.