Dustin Johnson withdraws from the Masters

McIlroy is now the only player among the world’s top four that has not yet won a tournament yet this year. That makes him the first player in more than 40 years to arrive at Augusta National Golf Club having won his three previous starts. Johnson’s trainer, Joey Diovisalvi, told Masters Radio on SiriusXM on Wednesday night that Johnson was going out to the garage to move a vehicle when he slipped on three wooden steps.

Johnson has not missed a major since the 2014 PGA Championship, which came just after he announced he was taking a six-month break from golf to seek professional help for “personal challenges”.

(AP Photo/Dave Martin, File).

No world number one has captured the Masters Green Jacket since Tiger Woods in 2002.

World number one Dustin Johnson pulled out of the U.S. Masters on Thursday after sustaining a back injury in a freak fall, leaving the year’s first major without the red hot favorite. He is scheduled to play in the day’s final group with a tee time of 2:03 p.m.

ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi, meanwhile, reported early Thursday that Johnson was in “significant pain” and had a hard time finding a position to rest comfortably. He was treating it with ice and medication and told to remain immobile. His questionable status further scrambled what was already predicted to be a wild first round. It’s expected to get even more challenging as the day goes on, with gusts of 35-40 miles per hour in the forecast by early afternoon.

The Augusta National Golf Club will make what Payne called a “significant” donation to the Arnold Palmer Charitable Foundation. You can upgrade to a Hot BBQ Sandwich for £3 though and they’re pretty damn good, especially washed down with a pink lemonade for $1.50, or an import beer (you get a special green Masters cup with this one which is a nice memento to bring home) for $5.

Rory McIlroy has revealed he feels the strain of trying to complete the career grand slam and during the Masters. After an extended conversation with his coach, Butch Harmon, Johnson started walking toward the first tee.

Augusta National at times can favor emotion.

That’s how it was among the “Big Three” — Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, whose 34 majors among them included one stretch in the 1960s in which they combined to win the Masters seven straight times. The operation went well and her prognosis suddenly got a whole lot better.

“It’s unbelievably hard. I feel like I’m playing the best golf of my career now”.

“The Masters made Arnold in many ways, because of his wins in ’58, ’60, ’62, and ’64”, Nicklaus said. So if nobody his age has won a Green Jacket in the 80 years the tournament has been played up to this point, it’s sensible to ask the why anybody would assume this year could be different. It all fell apart at the par-3 12th, where he dumped two shots in the water and surrendered the lead with a quadruple-bogey 7. “That’s all we’re asking for”.

In my eyes, though, that information is just a small part of the picture that should be considered when evaluating Mickelson’s chances. Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus served as the honorary starters for this year.

After an emotional moment of silence for legendary four-time Masters champion Palmer, who died aged 87 in September, it was South Africa’s Player who hit the ceremonial first tee shot dressed in his trademark all-black attire.