Australian golfer Jeffrey Guan has permanently lost sight in his left eye after a freak playing accident.
The 20-year-old said he was hit in the face by a ball last month after taking his second shot on the third hole at a pro-am tournament last month.
“As I turned toward the cart to put my club away, that was when I was struck. The instant ringing and pain rushed to my head, and I dropped down the ground,” he said on Instagram.
The two-time national junior champion said he was given fentanyl for the pain as he was rushed to hospital, before later being airlifted to another facility.
Guan had only been a pro for a year and it happened just a week after he made his PGA Tour debut at a tournament in California.
While Guan hasn’t said where the ball that hit him came from, Golfing Monthly reported that it was “an errant tee shot”.
He had several surgeries and spent two weeks in intensive care – often in “excruciating pain” due to several fractures of his eye socket.
Guan described being stuck in hospital and “drowned in thoughts” about how his career could be over, saying it was “unbearable” that all his years in the sport might be wasted.
However, he told his followers he had decided to continue after the support of loved ones and still wants to break into the game’s elite.
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“As a kid, I have always had a lot of perseverance and persistence,” he wrote. “I will continue to work hard and do my best to achieve my dream.”
“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life,” he added. “But I am stronger mentally and will be ready to conquer any obstacle in the future.”
Guan said doctors believe his recovery will take six months to a year.