Dufner set to play through pain barrier

Jason Dufner hopes to simply complete 72 holes in the defence of his US PGA title and secure his place on the US Ryder Cup team.

Dufner had an epidural last week to ease the pain caused by two bulging discs in his neck and admits he needs to take up to two months off, but knows his Ryder Cup place is not secure.

The 37-year-old is eighth in the standings with the top nine on Sunday evening qualifying automatically for Tom Watson’s team to contest the biennial event at Gleneagles at the end of September.