Masters 2017: Dustin Johnson Pulls Out After Injuring His Back In A Fall
Dustin Johnson's quest for the coveted green jacket ended before it even started.
A back injury forced the American to withdraw from the US Masters moments before he was due to tee off.
He suffered the injury in a fall at his home yesterday. Johnson took a tumble on the stairs and suffered a bad bang to his lower back.
He was hoping to recover in time to take part, but having felt in serious discomfort on the driving range earlier in the day, the World Number One opted to exit the competition.
He was at the first tee for his scheduled start time of 7.03pm but walked off at the last moment.
His coach Butch Harmon told Sky Sports that Johnson felt pulling out was the only option as he struggled to hit the ball with the injury:
“He was going to see if he could play. He didn’t want to waste his time and embarrass himself. Just looks like he couldn’t go.”
Johnson spoke to reporters as he left the course and revealed the circumstances surrounding the fall:
"I was wearing socks and slipped and went down the three stairs."
"The left side of my lower back took the brunt of it and my left elbow is bruised as well."
“It sucks. I want to play,” Johnson added.
“I'm playing the best golf of my life and to have a freak accident happen yesterday afternoon, it sucks really bad.
"I have been worked on all morning and obviously I can take some swings, but I can't swing full, I can't make my normal swing and I didn't think there was any chance I could compete."
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