American Tony Finau damaged his left ankle in wild celebration of a hole-in-one in the curtain-raiser par-three competition and is now a doubt to make his debut in the main event on Thursday.
The 28-year-old American’s debut is in jeopardy after he suffered the injury during an enthusiastic celebration of his hole-in-one on the 7th, when his left ankle appeared to buckle underneath him, bringing the celebrations to an abrupt end.
He then seemed to pop the ankle back into place and carried on for the last two holes, but declined to speak to reporters after leaving the final green. Finau is due to begin his opening round at 12.43pm (5.43pm BST) on Thursday.
Meanwhile Tommy Fleetwood was denied perhaps an unwanted piece of Augusta National history by an unlikely source. Tom Watson, now 68, pipped Fleetwood by one to win the annual Masters par three competition on Wednesday afternoon. No winner of the nine-hole contest has ever done likewise at the Masters, which will douse any Fleetwood disappointment.
Watson completed a hugely impressive six under total of just 21 shots on the nine-hole par-three course. In a more eventful staging of the traditional competition than is normally the case, Jack Nicklaus’s caddie and grandson Gary produced a hole-in-one.
Earlier Tiger Woods made dreams come true for Matt Parziale. The firefighter and amateur golfer, who earned a Masters spot, played practice holes alongside the former champion.
“Matt played great today and we really had a lot of fun,” said Woods. “He’s a terrific kid and we had a really good time. He told some great stories about the fire department and things that he’s done. The fact that Matt puts his life on the line every day for others, and then does this is amazing. I’m really impressed by his game.”
