Dustin Johnson prepares for Masters with an uncluttered mind and an aching back

AUGUSTA, GA. – What had the feel of an unpredictable Masters became more so on Wednesday afternoon when the betting favorite and top-ranked player, Dustin Johnson, fell and injured his back, raising the possibility that he will not be able to play in Thursday's opening round.

Johnson is trying to become the first No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Rankings to win the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2002.

The injury, if serious, would add to a series of dramatic and often unfortunate events for Johnson in majors, less than a year after he broke through with a victory at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

According to his agent, David Winkle of Hambric Sports, Johnson fell on the stairs of his rental home in Augusta on Wednesday. He said Johnson landed hard on his lower back and is resting with discomfort. Doctors have advised Johnson to remain immobile and start taking anti-inflammatory medication, according to Winkle.

He is scheduled to tee off at 1:03 p.m. with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and PGA champion Jimmy Walker.

Johnson had finished in the top 10 in 11 majors before Oakmont. He had blown a Sunday lead at Pebble Beach in the 2010 U.S. Open, had three-putted to give Jordan Spieth a victory at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, and had been penalized for grounding his club in loose sand defined as a bunker at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

At Oakmont, Johnson led on Sunday when he was told on the 12th tee that he might be assessed a one-stroke penalty because his ball moved on the fifth green after he addressed it.

He has continued to surge this year. In eight starts in 2017, he has earned three victories and six top-10 finishes. Not bad for someone whose brainpower has been compared to Forrest Gump's.

"He's the Forrest Gump, from the standpoint of you tell him to run that way, he goes, 'OK, I'll run that way,' " his coach, Claude Harmon, told Golf Digest last year. "If you could design an athlete from start to finish, a golfer, you wouldn't design one that was super-intelligent, introspective and a thinker. You'd design a golfer that doesn't really know a lot, that is a freak athlete and has the ability to not be affected."

Johnson's rise appears to be a triumph of the uncluttered mind. The best golfers tend to be analytical about everything from spin rate to green speed, and modern golfers extend sports science to nutrition, conditioning and swing analysis.

Tiger Woods once used the phrase "deactivated glutes." Phil Mickelson can make golf sound like thermonuclear physics. Bryson DeChambeau built custom clubs based on extensive data and advanced swing theory. Many players employ sports psychologists.

Johnson, by contrast, says his pre-shot routine is simple. He asks his caddie how far he should carry the ball. He envisions the shot. He swings.

His uncluttered mind creates an unfettered swing for the most awe-inspiring ball-striker on tour, and might have allowed him to win big after so many ego-shrinking losses.

"I mean, golf, it's a funny game," Johnson said this week at the Masters. "It doesn't matter how good you're playing, you can still not win."

That's about as close as Johnson gets to introspection. The PGA Tour suspended him for six months in 2014 for failing a drug test. He is married to Wayne Gretzky's daughter, Paulina, and says the birth of their son, Tatum, changed his life, but he doesn't offer much on his personal triumphs or travails.

"[Tatum] and Paulina are the most important things in my life," he said.

Since Woods' decline began, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth had taken turns as the world No. 1 before Johnson took over seven weeks ago. His putting and short-game savvy, and quite possibly his back, will be tested this week by Augusta National. His play hasn't prompted predictions that he'll dominate the golf world, but he has the talent to win any given week.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at MalePatternPodcasts.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. E-mail: jsouhan@startribune.com