Dustin Johnson set for return from COVID lockdown

A week before The Masters, Dustin Johnson is out of COVID-19 isolation.

Johnson missed two starts and spent 11 days quarantined in a hotel. He's scheduled to play in this week's Houston Open.

"The only good thing that came out of this is I know I'm playing next week at the Masters," Johnson said Wednesday.

The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, Johnson has not played a competitive round on the PGA Tour since the U.S. Open in mid-September.

Johnson said he started hitting golf balls again last week but otherwise has not been on the course. He withdrew from the CJ Cup after arriving in Las Vegas and beginning to feel symptoms related to the coronavirus.

"I felt like I had a cold for a few days and then after that I didn't -- so I was pretty much asymptomatic," Johnson said. "A little fatigue and things like that, but I couldn't really figure out if that was because I was stuck in a hotel room for like 11 days not doing anything or it was COVID that made me feel that way. I didn't leave the room for 11 days; I was just laying around kind of doing nothing. It was one of those things I was, like, waiting to get sick because you know you have it and you're sitting there. But for me it was very mild, and obviously I'm very thankful for that.

"It definitely puts a wrench in your plans on what you were trying to do. Obviously I was planning on playing Shadow Creek and Sherwood, those two events. I had a lot more time off than I was planning on."

At the 2019 Masters, Johnson nearly unseated the Tiger Woods comeback story but missed out on a playoff with a par on the 18th. He finished in a tie for second, his best finish ever at the event. Johnson tied for fourth in 2016.

The 36-year-old Johnson said he's headed back to Augusta National next week healthy. That includes overcoming left knee problems earlier in the season.

Johnson finished sixth at the U.S. Open and was in the top six in six of his past nine tournaments.

--Field Level Media