MASTERS: Wind gusts up to 40 mph
Johnson, No. 1 in the world and playing the best golf of his life, was a few minutes away from his tee time when his head overruled his heart. He left the practice green and took a sharp turn away from the first tee toward the clubhouse to withdraw because of a freak injury to his back.
“My heart is in it and wants to play,” he said. “The more I thought about it, I just wasn’t going to have a chance.”
Johnson was still trying to digest the last 24 hours, as shocking as any for a No. 1 player going into a major. He was in his rental home Wednesday when he went to move his car in a downpour because his 2-year-old son was on his way back from day care. Wearing only socks, he slipped on the hardwood steps and crashed onto his left elbow and lower back, calling for his brother to help him up.
Even as he tried to warm up on Thursday, he slowly shook his head because of the pain he felt when he struck the ball.
“To have a freak accident happen, it sucks,” Johnson said. “It sucks really bad.”
Not having Johnson around didn’t make the Masters any easier.
With gusts approaching 40 mph, Hoffman and Masters newcomer William McGirt (69) were the only players to break 70.
Hoffman didn’t have reason to believe he would be one of them. He three-putted his third hole for bogey. He three-putted the fifth hole for bogey, both putts affected by the wind.
“After that, I can’t remember missing a putt,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman’s four-shot lead was the largest at the Masters for the opening round since Jack Burke Jr. had a four-shot lead in 1955.
Lee Westwood, who has the credentials as the best player to have never won a major, ran off five straight birdies late in the afternoon and salvaged a 70. Only eight other players broke par, a group that included Phil Mickelson, Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia.
Rory McIlroy, needing only a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam, used a nifty short game to stay in the mix. He saved two tough pars after missing the green in the wrong spots on Nos. 10 and 11, ran off three birdies in the middle of the back nine, and closed with another good par save for a 72.
The wind was so strong that it blew golf balls some 6 feet on the greens as Adam Scott and defending champion Danny Willett were getting ready to putt.
The par-5 15th hole, historically the easiest at Augusta National, was the ninth hardest because of strong gusts and a back pin. No need to explain that to Jordan Spieth. One shot spun back into the water. Another shot went well over the green. He made a quadruple-bogey 9 and shot 75.