The 88th Masters Tournament is approaching. For many golf fans, this event heralds the start of spring. It gives Augusta his national mystique and aura.
There are always a lot of stories unfolding this week. This year is no exception.
The introduction of LIV Golf and the 13 members who make it so exciting is clearly going to be a big topic. Rory McIlroy is aiming to win the green jacket and complete his 10th career Grand Slam.
Tiger Woods expressed full confidence that McIlroy would indeed accomplish the feat.
But as the players prepared for the Masters, an unexpected story emerged.
Photo by Andrew Reddington/Getty Images
Minwoo Lee, a rising star on the PGA Tour, recently broke his hand while training. Incredibly, he’s still trying.
“I was in the gym, I think it was Saturday. Yeah, last Saturday. I was just doing things like side bridge glutes and that was literally the last rep, the last set. But I loved throwing dumbbells and somehow cutting off my right ring finger,” Lee said Tuesday.
“It broke. But yes, I’m bandaged up now. You know, I hit my first shot last week on Friday, so it’s my first time hitting a full driver… It’s actually amazing how quickly I recovered. It was bruised and still swollen, but it didn’t really hurt that much, which was really strange.
“I’m somehow recovering so much that I just ice it and lift myself up as much as I can. Yeah, I guess it wasn’t the best preparation.”
He not only suffers from a broken hand, but also from an illness.
“I got the flu two days ago. Yeah, it’s going well,” Lee said wryly.
He hopes to improve on last year’s performance, when he missed the cut with a 75-75 record. The year before, he had a T14 finish in his debut at Augusta.
The 25-year-old is winless on the PGA Tour. Still, he finished in the top 10 five times in 14 starts last year. This included a T5 finish at The Open and a tie for sixth at The Players.
He has shown a penchant for playing big in big tournaments during his young career. But how will he survive his broken hand and the flu? only time will tell.
Lee will tee off Thursday morning at 10:06 a.m. ET with Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler.
Kendall Capps is the senior editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social media platforms.
