Golf
Promising Australian Golfer Jeffrey Guan Loses Eye In Freak Accident
Australian golfer Jeffrey Guan, who made his PGA Tour Debut in September, was the victim of a freak golf accident recently that led to the 20 year-old losing sight in one of his eyes.
Jeffrey Guan Loses Eye After Being Hit By A Stray Golf Ball
The name Jeffrey Guan might not be familiar with many golf followers, but the world ranked 1055th will be known by many more now – but not for great reasons.
Guan was unfortunately the victim of a stray golf ball on the course which saw his left eye taking the full force of the impact.
At the time Jeffrey Guan was playing in a tournament in the south of Sydney towards the end of September when the accident happened – leading to a serious fracture in his left cheekbone and surrounding eye socket.
As a result, his eye couldn’t be saved and as per the Australian PGA “lost vision in his left eye”.
In September, Jeffrey Guan was struck with a golf ball and has permanently lost vision in his left eye. Amazingly, he's working towards a return to pro golf 💪
🏌️♂️ Show your support for Jeffrey here: https://t.co/DlQX4K7vhN pic.twitter.com/h9gxRffxza
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) October 31, 2024
Jeffrey Guan Said Of The Incident
“As my whole group teed off on the third tee, my playing partner and I [whom I shared the cart with] hit our drives on the right-hand side of the fairway,”
“I drove up to his ball, and he hit his second shot [about 30 metres behind my ball].
“After he had hit, there was no sign of anyone or anything on our side behind us, so I drove us to my ball. It took roughly 45 seconds for me to prepare and execute my shot.
“As I turned towards the cart to put my club away, that was when I was struck.”
He hit the ground and said he could only hear muffled voices – and when he came round was in an ambulance with high does of Fentanyl on his face on skin patches.
However, after spending weeks in hospital and undergoing many operations – the doctors were unable to save Guan’s left eye.
Jeffrey Guan “Utterly Distraught” But Vows To Play On
After the horrific injury Guan issued a statement saying he was “utterly distraught” but claimed that during his nights in hospital couldn’t stop thinking about his future in the game.
Adding that with the unknown ahead and now only 50% of his vision this also left him with many unanswered questions, plus feeling very depressed and angry.
However, Jeffrey Guan, who before the accident had signed with the same management company as Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson, has since said that he vows to play on and hopes to return to the PGA Tour next year.
“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life,” he added.
“But I am stronger mentally and will be ready to conquer any obstacle in the future.
“I will be back.”
To date, Gyan’s best finish in a tournament according to the official world golf ranking site was fourth in the TPS Sydney, Presented by Webex, Hosted by Braith Anasta back in February 2023.