AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) _ Wednesday was supposed to be the final practice round
at the Masters, but the biggest news coming out of Augusta had to do with the
world’s No. 1 golfer.
Dustin Johnson was trying to stay immobile Wednesday after taking a serious
fall down a staircase at the home he is renting during the Masters. His agent
said Johnson landed very hard on his lower back and was treating it with ice and
medication.
Johnson is scheduled to tee off with the last group on Thursday. One betting
house immediately dropped the odds of Johnson winning from 11-2 to a share of
the top billing at 7-1 with Jordan Spieth (speeth) and Rory McIlroy.
The final Masters practice was suspended early in the afternoon with severe
storms bearing down on Augusta National. The weather washed out the popular par
3 contest, two days after the course was forced to close because of heavy rains.
Fans were ordered to leave the course as a line of dangerous storms and the
threat of tornados swept across the Deep South.
The forecast is more promising through the rest of the week, though high winds
Thursday and Friday could make the playing conditions challenging.