By Australian golfer Jeffrey Guan’s dreams came true in September, as he made his PGA Tour debut. A week later, the 20-year-old was left blinded in one eye after being struck in the face by a golf ball.
The freak accident occurred during a pro-am tournament at Catalina Golf Club in New South Wales, Australia. Detailing the incident on social media, Guan said he had just taken a shot and turned towards his golf cart to put his club away. As he did so, he was struck by a ball.
“The instant ringing and pain rushed to my head, and I dropped to the ground. Voices sounded pretty muffled, and the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance being transported to a hospital,” he said in a statement on Instagram Thursday.
Guan was later airlifted to Canberra, where he underwent surgery on his eye.
“I was in unbearable pain, and anxiety about my future was swirling in my mind,” he added.
He then had another surgery in Sydney, before spending two weeks in intensive care, to ensure his eyeball was stable.
Doctors told Guan that he had suffered multiple fractures to his eye-socket and “had lost vision completely in my left eye.”
PGA of Australia has said the loss of vision is permanent.
“During my nights in hospital, I almost drowned in thoughts about the injury and my future in the sport,” he added.
“Not only was I utterly distraught by the news I had received, but the whole situation made me very depressed and somewhat angry.”
In his statement, Guan went on to thank everyone for their support and insisted he “will be back” in order to “achieve my dream.”
“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life, but I am stronger mentally and will be ready to conquer any obstacle in the future,” he said.
An online fundraiser has been set up to support Guan financially through his recovery, as well as giving him “peace of mind” to help him “on his journey back to playing golf at the elite level.”
The fundraiser has raised just over 9,000 Australian dollars (around $5,900). The goal is to raise 500,000 Australian dollars (around $328,000).
Guan is a two-time junior national champion in Australia and was primed to start his breakthrough in the professional game.
He competed in the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship in September, but failed to make the cut.
