Masters hopeful to play through injury after freak accident

Beware the injured golfer.

Fans of Netflix docu-series Full Swing will know all about Tom Kim’s heroics at last year’s Open Championship. The Korean battled through a severe ankle injury to seal a T2 finish.

How about the second most decorated player in Masters history: Tiger Woods. The 48-year-old’s tribulations are well documented, and his 2008 U.S. Open win carried a torn knee ligament.

Or even a recent case from Augusta National itself, when Tony Finau snuck inside the top ten in 2018 after dislocating his ankle during the Par-3 contest.

While not as debilitating, there is one man in the 2024 Masters field with an issue to overcome.

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Min Woo Lee, sure to be buoyed by unwavering support from the patrons in Georgia, is nursing a broken finger after the Australian suffered a freak incident in the gym last week.

With a bandaged ring finger on his dominant right-hand, Lee detailed the accident after practicing nine holes with compatriots Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Jason Day.

“I dropped a dumb bell on my hand,” he said. “I was just doing like a side bridge glute thing, and it was literally my last rep, last set thing, and I threw the dumb bell down and somehow clipped my right ring finger. Broke it.

“I went to the doctor, and I thought it was OK because I could move it. It was just red. I thought it would be fine. Then they came in and said, ‘you’ve broken it’.

“So a lot of anxiety. This is the first time telling the public. We didn’t know as a team to tell or to not, and I felt like I should tell people because there was a lot of pressure on me playing well.”

The 25-year-old missed the cut at last year’s tournament but glided to a T14 finish on his Masters debut in 2022.

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He is bidding to join LPGA Tour star sister Minjee in becoming a major championship winner, but that feat will also mean bypassing a bout of the flu. Fortunately, the Aussie remains in fine fettle.

“You’re going to hear it from my voice: I’m not 100% yet,” Lee said. “Other than that, I actually feel very all right. Could have been a lot worse.

“I mean, [the] recovery was miraculously good. I have it bandaged up right now. I hit my first shot for the last week on Friday, so hit my first full driver. Honestly, it’s amazing how fast the recovery was.

“It was bruised, still swollen, but not actually that painful which is really strange. Somehow, I’m recovering very good, so icing and elevating as much as I can.”

Meanwhile, Lee is not the only Australian contender struggling. Smith, who was runner-up at The Masters in 2020, is recovering from food poisoning.

The former Open champion was forced to pull out of LIV Golf’s final tune up before the first major of the year. It was stated by the circuit that Ben Campbell would replace him in Miami.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.