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Dustin Johnson withdraws from Masters with back injury

Jordan Spieth makes his way to the 13th green during the first round for the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Augusta, Ga. Then Charley Hoffman delivered a surprise of his own. “He said to me, “I took on too much a couple of times and it cost me a couple of green jackets.’ I’m like, ‘Well, you have six”. Certainly tough conditions and I didn’t drive the ball particularly well so I was playing from some hard locations today”, said Spieth. “So I didn’t take my medicine, and hit it about 15 feet right with a club that takes the spin off”, Spieth said.

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There is a large group tied for fourth which includes Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. He saved two tough pars after missing the green in the wrong spots on Nos.

Only 11 players broke par, the fewest since 2007.

Johnson never got a chance to see how he would fare.

He tried to play. But that’s as far as Johnson got.

“I don’t feel like there’s any chance of me competing”. Tiger Woods became the first to do so back in 2014. But none as abruptly as this when at the top of their game.

In his first three Masters starts, Spieth has finished T-2, win, T-2, but his scoring’s drifting. “If this had happened Monday, I’d be fine”. “But it happened Wednesday”, he said.

“It’s unbelievably hard. I feel like I’m playing the best golf in my career right now”. It could also be confounding because of wind that always feels stronger than it really is among the Georgia pines, which could be bad news for McIlroy.

Fellow Australians Jason Day and Rod Pampling (74) are next best of the Aussies, while amateur world No.1 Curtis Luck signed for a disappointing 78 in his Masters debut.

“It’s disappointing, for sure, for everybody”, 2013 champion Adam Scott said.

The will he-won’t he saga began when Johnson, clad in his socks on a slick wooden floor, tumbled down a short flight on stairs on the way to the basement. Another shot went well over the green. He even managed one after his quadruple bogey yesterday. “It was impact and through impact where it’d catch”.

A grim-faced Johnson made his way to the first tee but after a few swings turned and walked to the clubhouse.

Another catastrophic splashdown after spinning his approach shot to the 15th back into the drink led him to unravel.

The victor of his last three starts on the PGA Tour and the reigning U.S. Open champion and PGA Tour player of the year injured himself Wednesday falling on wooden stairs in his rental home. Just as quickly, Henley recovered with birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes. “I just can’t swing”.

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By the third try, Simpson putted his ball in as Watson’s pink ball slowly edged by the cup yet again.

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