One of the more brutal stories in golf just took another brutal turn on Thursday.
Last month, 20-year-old Jeffery Guan, an aspiring tour pro from Australia, was struck in his left eye by an errant tee shot from a pro-am participant. The freak accident took place just one week after Guan had made his PGA Tour debut at the Procore Championship in Napa, California, where he missed the cut.
At the time, it was reported that Guan had suffered multiple fractures in his eye socket, but the full extent of the injury was not yet known. On Thursday, the PGA of Australia announced the devastating news that Guan has permanently lost vision in his left eye.
In a statement, Guan detailed the accident and vowed that he will make a comeback to professional golf.
“I remember this: 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,” Guan wrote.
“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.”
Guan said he felt instant ringing and pain rushing straight to his head. He dropped to the ground and could hear only muffled voices. When he came to, he was in an ambulance and being transported to a hospital with skin patches containing high doses of Fentanyl.
“I had my first surgery that night,” said Guan. “I was in unbearable pain, and anxiety about my future was swirling in my mind.”
After a second surgery, Guan spent two weeks in intensive care. Sleeping, eating and walking were all difficult. Any activity that required energy, Gaun said, meant he’d be in “excruciating pain.”
He finally got a bit of good news on the third week, when doctors told him his eye pressure had decreased towards the norm and that his eye looked much more stable. Still, the recovery process would take at least six months to a year given the severity of the injury.
“During my nights in hospital,” Guan wrote, “I almost drowned in thoughts about the injury and my future in the sport. Not only was I utterly distraught by the news I had received, but the whole situation made me very depressed and somewhat angry.”
Fortunately, Guan had a great support system around him, and the encouragement has inspired him to return to the sport he loves.
“As a kid, I have always had a lot of perseverance and persistence,” he said. “I will continue to work hard and do my best 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.
“I will be back.”
