Masters Diary

The trend may be for pop idols or cute kids to caddie for participants at the Masters Par-3 Contest but Graeme McDowell took a different tack yesterday at Augusta National, welcoming an injured American veteran to the party.

Army corporal Kevin McCloskey sacrificed his legs and suffered vision loss in his right eye, extensive burns and a traumatic brain injury when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Through the Birdies for the Brave programme he found golf and credits it for helping both his physical and psychological rehabilitation.

Yesterday the game brought him to Augusta National and an afternoon to remember in the company of a welcoming McDowell.