The young golfer Jeffrey Guan, 20, who was blinded in one eye after being hit by a ball. It happened in September, just a week after he had debuted on the PGA Tour. Played in the Procore Championship (Napa, California). After a card of 69 strokes on the first day, a second of 75 prevented him from making the cut.
Seven days later, he played a pro-am tournament at Catalina Golf Club in New South Wales, Australia. After hitting his drive into the fairway on the 3rd hole, he turned toward the cart to put away his club. Then he got hit in the eye by the ball. “I felt an instant buzz and pain in my head and fell to the ground. Suddenly, I found myself in an ambulance being taken to a hospital,” explains Guan, two-time youth national champion in Australia, through a statement on his networks. social.
He was flown to Canberra, where he had surgery that same night. The next day he underwent surgery again at the Sydney Eye Hospital. He spent two weeks in intensive care.
He faced a long stay in the hospital. Multiple fractures in his eye socket caused him to permanently lose vision in his left eye despite all medical efforts.
Eye pressure did not decrease until the third week. Full recovery requires a period of between six months and a year. In November 2023, after finishing ninth at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Guan turned professional and joined the Australian PGA Tour.
In the hospital, I kept thinking that all my years of hard work and training, plus my family’s sacrifice, had gone out the window.
Jeffrey Guan
“During my nights in the hospital, I was almost drowned in thoughts about the injury I had suffered and my future in the golf that has become my career. I kept thinking about all my years of hard work and training, plus sacrifice of my family, had gone out the window. The frustration was unbearable. I was devastated, I didn’t know how I was going to recover and be the player I was,” Guan wrote in his statement.
“Since I was little I have always had a lot of perseverance. I will continue to work hard and do my best to achieve my dream. These four weeks have been the hardest of my life, but I am mentally stronger and will be ready to overcome any obstacle in the future “announces Guan, who has the support of the Australian Professional Golfers Association.
Since I was little I have always had a lot of perseverance. I will continue working hard to achieve my dream
Jeffrey Guan
A campaign has been launched through the Australian Sports Foundation to raise funds to help Guan with medical expenses and his recovery. At the moment it has collected 29,295 Australian dollars (17,693 euros) of the 500,000 (301,983) that has been set as a goal.
