Marksaeng fighting bad back at Augusta National

Marksaeng (Getty Images)

The Thai star, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour, made his Masters debut despite a back injury at Augusta National but it wasn't a joyous occasion.

Prayad's consolation was a lone birdie on the third hole but when his back seized up midway through the front nine, he dropped bogey after bogey and staggered off the 18th hole.

"I don't want to pull out," said Prayad after the round. "I'll try my best to get it going tomorrow. I will see the physiotherapist now.

"Before the back nine, the pain started again. I felt uncomfortable and couldn't make my full swing. It was tough to adjust and it was hard to get the ball on the green. I was still driving it okay."

The Thai, who received an invitation from Augusta National to feature in the year's first major after ending the season in 72nd place on the Official World Golf Ranking, arrived here with a back strain and had limited practice rounds at the famous venue.

Prayad only managed to put nine-hole practice sessions on Monday and Tuesday and the lingering pain prevented him from playing on Wednesday. His lack of preparation was exposed as he failed to save par from putts inside of eight to 10 feet.

"The greens are tough to read, especially when I didn't enjoy much experience of playing on it. I tried my best. I hit it okay but I missed a lot of five, six footers for pars," said Prayad, the third Thai after Sukree Onsham and Thongchai Jaidee to play at the Masters.