Tony Finau dislocates ankle celebrating hole-in-one at Masters Par-Three event - and pops it back in himself

American golfer may still play in The Masters on Thursday despite dislocating his ankle after running down a fairway backwards following his brilliant hole-in-one

Tony Finau is “optimistic” that he will be able to play in The Masters on Thursday after suffering a dislocated ankle while running down a fairway in celebration of a hole-in-one.

The sickening injury, which was broadcast live on television, happened during the Par-Three contest on Wednesday which acts as the final tune-up for competitors before the action gets underway at the Augusta National Golf Club.

Lining up his shot down the narrow seventh hole, Finau’s ball trickled back from pitching to the right of the green and miraculously found the hole to spark wild celebrations from the Augusta patrons – including from his children who joined him for the round.

But as he sprinted down the fairway and ran backwards to soak up the adulation of the cheering fans, his left ankle buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor, having dislocated the joint.

Even more gruesomely, the 28-year-old then appeared to pop his ankle back into the joint and carried on to complete his round.

Finau sprinted down the fairway to celebrate his hole-in-one (Getty)

But as he ran backwards, Finau's left ankle buckled underneath him (Getty)

Tony Finau dislocated his left ankle while celebrating a hole-in-one (Getty)

He refused to speak to reporters after leaving the final ninth hole in order to have the injury treated, and a scan revealed that he had not broken any bones in his leg or foot, with an MRI scan on Thursday set to determine if Finau can make his Masters debut later in the day.

"Crazy day,” Finau wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for thoughts of concern, messages and prayers from all. I'm optimistic.”

The American is due to begin his round at 12:43 local time [17:43 BST] on Thursday alongside Bernhard Langer and Yuta Ikeda, giving him the morning to hope for the swelling around his ankle to go down. Should Finau fail to prove his fitness and withdraw, the field will be reduced to 86 players, the smallest in 21 years since Tiger Woods claimed his first Green Jacket with his famous 12-shot victory in 1997.