Johnson takes it all in stride

World No 1 Dustin Johnson blasts a drive during a practice round ahead of last week's Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Johnson withdrew from the tournament after sustaining a back injury. Mike Sega / Reuters

World No 1 has admirable ability to put injury woes behind him

NEW YORK - Dustin Johnson was back on the stationary bike, moving forward without really going anywhere.

The good news for golf's No 1 player is that an MRI showed only a deep bruise on the left side of his lower back.

If doctors had taken images a little higher up the torso, they also might have seen a slight tear in his heart.

"One thing I never want to have to do again is watch a major from my couch," Johnson said on Tuesday.

At least he watched. And it wasn't all bad.

He was thrilled to see Sergio Garcia overcome a two-shot deficit in the Masters and two decades of frustrations in the majors. Johnson could relate to that, having been in position to win a major four times before capturing the US Open last summer at Oakmont.

Good luck finding someone who can relate to Johnson's experience at the 81st Masters.

Sure, there have been times when a world No 1 player was forced to withdraw from a major. But not when the player was coming off three straight victories against the strongest fields of the year.

And not when that player was five minutes and 20 yards from the first tee.

Johnson had finished his final nine holes of practice at Augusta last Wednesday before the storms rolled in. He had gone to the gym and had just returned to his rented house when it started raining and he wanted to move his car.

Wearing only socks, he slipped down the staircase, crashing onto his back and left elbow.

"It was terrible," Johnson said. "And the weirdest part is, I never walk around in socks. For some reason if I walk around barefooted, my left foot starts to hurt. That's why I always have shoes on.

"But I had just got back from the gym and wanted to run down and move the car."

Johnson said it was the worst pain he has ever felt.

"I thought I broke my back in half," he said.

He still thought he could play when he left the practice range on Thursday.

Johnson said he was hitting his 4-iron about 200 yards in the air (it usually flies 235 yards) and he had no idea which direction the ball was going until he hit it. Over the next 15 minutes, on the cart ride to the putting green and a few more full swings between putts, reality won out.

"The more I thought about it, there was no chance," he said. "It just took a while to convince myself."

There was a small measure of relief that tests revealed only a bruise. When he flew home to Florida, he said, his lower back hurt for two days.

Now it's in a confined area near the bruise. He has returned to a routine, which includes work in the gym.

"I'm not really doing much," Johnson said.

"Yesterday I did a little bit of work with my chest and arms. Moving up and down, I'm fine. But if I'm twisting, it's a little sore."

Johnson had scheduled the next three weeks off, so there will be no temptation to play before he is fully recovered.

His next tournament is the Wells Fargo Championship that starts on May 4.

Johnson's short memory might be one of his great assets. For all blunders on the golf course that he quickly forgets about, this one shouldn't be much different.

He still has a chance at his next tournament for a fourth straight PGA Tour victory, which would be the longest streak since Tiger Woods won five straight over six months.

"One reason I'm good at golf is because I try not to let it bother me," Johnson said. "It sucks to get injured. It sucks right now. But I woke up this morning, and it was a good day."

Giddy Garcia pumped for Open

After purging the majors demon that had haunted his career for nearly 20 years at the Masters, Sergio Garcia is setting his sights on the British Open at Southport in July.

After four runner-up finishes at majors, the Spaniard ended close to two decades of heartbreak on Sunday at Augusta, beating England's Justin Rose in a playoff.

"It's better late than never," Garcia joked in an interview with Radio Marca.

"I have to continue on the same path. I hope this is not the last. The Masters is like the Champions League (Europe's biggest soccer club competition), but the British Open is like the Champions' Champions League."

Garcia played in 74 majors before finally notching his first championship.

Triumph finally came when he drained a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole of a playoff against Rose.

"I hit it where I wanted to," Garcia said. "I didn't ask my caddie's opinion because the putt fell towards the left.

"On the five previous holes I struck the ball very well. I knew there was the possibility of making a birdie in the playoff."

Garcia's victory came on what would have been the 60th birthday of his late compatriot Severiano Ballesteros, who died of brain cancer in 2011.

Another Spanish icon, Jose Maria Olazabal, also won at Augusta, in 1994 and 1999.

"I dedicated the victory to Severiano. I was able to win in the same place that my two idols had done," Garcia said.

"Olazabal sent me a very nice message in which he told me that he loved me and that I should have a lot of confidence in myself."

Associated Press