DJ HEARTACHE KO
WORLD No.1 Dustin Johnson pulled out of the Masters just before his tee-off time yesterday and said: “It sucks”.
The American revealed he had damaged his lower back in a freak accident when he slipped on the stairs of his rented house on Wednesday.
Johnson, who was the hot favourite after winning his last three events, warmed up on the range and said he was
“gonna try” to play. But after speaking with coach Butch Harmon and going to the first tee he changed his mind and left the course.
He said: “I want to play more than anything but when I got to the putting green I realised I couldn’t swing the club.
“My left elbow is swollen and bruised but my back took the brunt of it. I’m playing the best golf of my career and this is an event I look forward to so to have a freak accident like this just sucks.
“The worst part is I feel I’ll be okay in a couple of days. My backswing is fine but at impact it was hurting.
“Last night I had ice, heat, ice. I hardly slept. I was up all night trying to get myself ready.”
Johnson is the first No.1 not to play a Major since Rory McIlroy pulled out of the 2015 Open with an ankle injury.
He added: “It was raining and my fiancee was coming home so I went to move the car with just socks on my feet, slipped on the stairs and landed on my back.”