Cameron Smith still finding his energy at Augusta as Min Woo Lee battles broken finger

A comical Cameron Smith slip near the water on the 13th hole at Augusta wasn’t the only accident that has created some injury worries at the Masters.

Cameron Smith’s lucky charm bracelet didn’t prevent a pre-Masters slip after arriving at Augusta still recovering from food poisoning, but the result was not as bad as a gym mishap that means Min Woo Lee will play the Masters with a broken finger.

After a Tuesday practice round having spent the weekend in bed, Smith revealed his body “shut down” after he pushed too hard to play at last weekend’s LIV event in Miami to round his Masters prep.

The Queenslander said Tuesday was the first day he felt like he had “a little bit of energy” and was hopeful he’d be ready to go for Thursday’s opening round at Augusta knowing he’d be “pretty screwed” if he didn’t start well.

“A bit of food poisoning at the start of last week and probably just tried to do a little bit too much and body just kind of shut down on me,” said Smith, who has four top-10 finishes at Augusta.

“Spent the weekend in the bed, which wasn’t the greatest preparation, but I was just saying that today is probably the first day where I feel like I’ve got a little bit of energy. I’m sure I’ll be pretty cooked tonight. At least I could get around and feel OK.

Cameron Smith spent the weekend in bed. Picture: Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

“I think here more than most places if you get behind the eight-ball, you’re pretty screwed pretty early. It definitely doesn’t make it any easier.

“I think the golf course is going to get harder and harder as the week goes on, and you definitely want to be up at the top of the leaderboard when it starts to get firm and fast.”

Smith tried to get over Rae’s Creek at the front of the 13th green and his attempt didn’t go too well.

“I didn’t try to jump, I just tried to get on a couple of rocks, and I had metals in my right shoe and I slipped. A bit of comedy for the crowd there,” he said.

“The only thing I was thinking as I was going down was not to get wet, so I managed to actually do all right. I had to throw my glove out and my shoes were a bit wet, but that’s about it.”

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— Golf Australia ⛳️ (@GolfAust) April 9, 2024

His lucky escape came as world No.32 Lee revealed he broke his finger in a gym incident 10 days ago and would play through the pain at his third Masters, having finished in a brilliant tie for 14th on debut in 2022

“I have it bandaged up right now. You know, I hit my first shot for the last week on Friday, so hit my first full driver,” he said.

“Honestly, it’s actually amazing how fast the recovery was. It was bruised, still swollen, but not actually that painful which is really strange.

“Somehow recovering very good, so icing and elevating as much as I can. I guess it wasn’t the best prep, and I got the flu two days ago. Yeah, it’s going great.

Min Woo Lee with a finger on his right hand heavily bandaged (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

“We didn’t know as a team to tell or to not, and I felt like I should tell people because there was a lot of the pressure on me I guess playing well.

“Honestly, felt nearly up to scratch to where it was … recovery was miraculously good.”

The duo are part of a six-man Australian contingent at the Masters, including 2013 champ Adam Scott, Jason Day, Cam Davis and amateur Jasper Stubbs.

AUSSIE TEE TIMES (AEST)

11pm Thu: Jasper Stubbs, Z.Johnson, C. Conners

12.06am Fri: Min Woo Lee, P.Cantlay, R.Fowler

12:54am: Cam Smith, W.Clark, V.Hovland

1:18am: Cam Davis, C.Villegas, D.McCarthy

3:12am: Adam Scott, S.Burns, C.Young

3:24am: Jason Day, T.Woods, M.Homa