Australian golfer promises comeback after accident leaves him blind in one eye – NBC New York

Australian golfer Jeffrey Guan has vowed to return to the sport and “overcome every obstacle” after he was hit in the face by a golf ball and completely lost the sight in his left eye.

The incident occurred in September during a pro-am tournament at Catalina Golf Club in the Australian state of New South Wales, just a week after Guan’s PGA Tour debut.

The 20-year-old rising star, a two-time national junior champion in Australia, said on Instagram on Thursday that he was hit by the ball as he turned to his golf cart to put his club away after taking a shot.

“The immediate ringing and pain shot to my head and I fell to the ground,” Guan wrote. “The voices were quite muffled, and before I knew it, I was in an ambulance being taken to a hospital.”

He was then flown to Canberra, the Australian capital, to undergo surgery.

“I was in excruciating pain and fear for my future haunted my mind,” he wrote.

After being transferred to Sydney for a second operation, Guan spent two weeks in intensive care to ensure his eyeball was stable.

Any activity that required energy, including walking and eating, would leave him in “excruciating pain,” he wrote.

Guan said doctors told him there were multiple fractures in his eye socket.

“During my nights in the hospital I was almost drowning in thoughts about the injury and my future in the sport,” he wrote, adding that “the whole situation left me very depressed and somewhat angry.”

PGA of Australia said Thursday that Guan’s vision loss was permanent.

Guan thanked the people around him for all their support and said, “I will be back.”

“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life, but I am mentally stronger and will be ready to overcome any obstacle in the future,” he wrote.

From Friday one crowdfunding campaign launched by the Australian Sports Foundation had raised more than 13,000 Australian dollars ($8,500) out of a $500,000 target.

Guan’s first PGA Tour appearance was at the Procore Championship in California in September. Although he missed the cut, “just getting into the event was a huge achievement.” Golf magazine wrote.

He had recently signed a deal with Sportfive, a sports marketing company based in Germany that also represents the Spanish professional golfer Jon Rahm.

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