Dustin Johnson's hopes of making a mark at The Masters have been put into doubt after he suffered a fall on the eve of this year's tournament.
The 2017 Masters tee off on Thursday but his manager has revealed that the World No 1 suffered a serious fall on a staircase on Wednesday afternoon at about 3pm local time.
However, he adds that the 2016 US Open winner remains hopeful of participating in the first major of the year.
According to The Associated Press, Johnson's agent David Winkle revealed in an statement that the US golfer had fallen down the stairs in the residence he is renting in Augusta for the tournament, writing that Johnson had "landed very hard on his lower back".
He added that while the player is hopeful of taking to the Augusta course tomorrow, he is resting "quite uncomfortably" after the accident.
Johnson has been in excellent form, winning three tournament in a row at the Genesis Open, WGC Mexico and WGC Dell Technologies World Match Play, and had been one of the favourites to claim the Masters green jacket.
He had been due to tee off just after 7pm Irish time alongside Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker.
Dustin Johnson's agent says the world No. 1 hopes to be able to play in #TheMasters after taking a serious fall.https://t.co/BiZ2tNiMhq pic.twitter.com/tB8VLUbtKH
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 5, 2017
