One of the country’s most promising young athletes is fighting against a career-threatening injury after being hit in the eye by one of his golfing partner’s balls.
Jeff Guan, who made his debut on the star-studded PGA Tour just a week ago, had to be helicoptered to hospital after being hit in the face by the errant golf ball in a freak accident on a NSW south coast course.
The 20-year-old suffered severe injuries when the ball, fired by one of his Pro-Am partners, struck him just under the eye while playing at Club Catalina in Batemans Bay during a NSW Open regional qualifying event on Friday afternoon.
Paramedics treated Guan at the scene and then transferred him to Moruya District Hospital, where he underwent scans, before he was airlifted to Canberra and underwent surgery on one eye.
Mr Guan has been a fixture in the sport since his debut at the PGA Tour in the Procore Championship in California.
He was invited through a sponsor invitation and had previously been a top-25 finisher in both the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open last year.
The golfing young gun is ranked number 989 in the world and already considered by many to be one of the country’s most promising players.
Paramedics rushed to the scene to treat Jeff Guan who was then transferred to Moruya District Hospital before being airlifted to Canberra where he underwent surgery on one eye
Guan was hit in the face by a ball during a freak accident at Club Catalina in Batemans Bay
PGA of Australia and Golf NSW confirmed an errant ball had caused Guan’s injury.
‘Jeff was hit just below his eye, and received treatment on course, before being transferred to Moruya Hospital for scans,’ they said in a statement.
‘He was then airlifted to Canberra to be assessed by an eye specialist.
‘The 20-year-old, who played his first U.S. PGA Tour event last week, is a member of the Golf NSW High Performance & Golf Australia Rookie Squad.
‘The PGA of Australia, Golf NSW and Golf Australia wish to thank everyone who assisted Jeff following the incident and wish him all the best with his recovery.
‘We would ask people to respect the family’s privacy at this time, and we will endeavour to provide updates on his condition in due course.’
Guan turned professional in 2023 and was previously the only Australian to represent the International team in the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup.
The 20-year-old suffered career-threatening injuries when the stray ball, fired by one of his Pro-Am partners, struck him in under the eye during the NSW Open regional qualifying event
While there he won the amateur version of The Players Championship at the famous TPC Sawgrass layout.
He had told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time that representing his country was a ‘privilege’.
‘To represent your country is a privilege and to play in a high-level event, it gives you more experience to go towards the target you want to reach, which is to play professionally,’ he said.
‘That’s a really big stepping stone where I can learn from players all around the world, as well as the pros we get to watch.’
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