Australian golf star Lee Min-woo has revealed he will compete in the Masters with a broken finger after sustaining an accidental injury in the gym last week.
Lee also entered the first major of the year at an untimely date with the flu, but remained optimistic after detailing a broken ring finger on his right hand.
“I dropped a dumbbell on my hand,” he said after playing nine holes at Augusta National on Tuesday with compatriots Adam Scott, Jason Day and Cameron Smith.
“I was in the gym last Saturday. I was just doing side bridge glutes, and it was actually my last rep, last set, and I dropped the dumbbells and somehow clipped my right ring finger. Break it.
“So I went to the doctor and I thought it was okay because I could move it. It was just red. I thought that was it. Then they came in and said, ‘You’ve broken it’.
“So very anxious. It’s the first time it’s been announced to the public. As a team, we don’t know what to tell or not to tell, and I feel like I should tell people because I’m playing so well and it’s a lot of pressure.”
The 25-year-old is bidding to join his LPGA Tour star sister Minjee in becoming a major champion and insists he can still challenge for the green jacket despite injury and illness. But the West Australian admits he has to dig deeper.
“You’ll hear it in my voice: I’m not 100 percent recovered,” Lee said. “Other than that, I actually feel good. It could have been a lot worse. I’m just happy to be here, especially playing nine holes and giving 100 percent.
“I mean, [the] Recovering very well. I have it bandaged up now. I hit my first shot of the week on Friday, so I hit my first full tee shot. It’s honestly amazing how fast the recovery was.
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“It’s bruised and still swollen, but it’s not actually that painful, which is really weird. Somehow I’m recovering well, so I’m icing and lifting as much as I can.”
The injury didn’t even stop the West Australian from lifting weights.
“I still went to the gym as much as I could last week. Obviously didn’t do this exercise,” he said. “Every time I look at that 20-pound dumbbell, yeah, I look at it with a death stare.”
