20-yo Jeffrey Guan releases statement after being transported to hospital following a golf ball injury

Australian golf prodigy Jeffrey Guan was involved in a freak accident during the pro-am event at the NSW Open qualifier on Friday, September 20. Following the incident, his team released a statement providing a health update, revealing that Guan had been referred to Canberra for treatment.

Jeffrey Guan, a 20-year-old rising star, had just played his first PGA Tour event last week at the Procore Championship. This week, he was at Catalina Club in Batemans Bay, Australia, for the NSW Open regional qualifier. During the Pro-Am event, he was struck in the eye by a shot from one of his Pro-Am partners.

Following the incident, a joint statement was released by the PGA of Australia, Golf NSW, and Golf Australia on Saturday, September 21, briefing the whole situation.

"NSW professional Jeffrey Guan has been transported to hospital in Canberra after being struck by a golf ball during a pro-am event at Club Catalina yesterday," the statement read.

"Jeff was hit just below his eye, and received treatment on course, before being transferred to Moruya Hospital for scans. He was then airlifted to Canberra to be assessed by an eye specialist. The 20-year-old, who played his first US 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 thanked everyone for assisting Guan following the accident and wished him a speedy recovery. They further requested that people respect the privacy of the golfer's family and assured that updates on his condition would be provided when available.

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Jeffrey Guan's coach hopes for positive news amid the concerns of him losing partial eyesight

Jeffrey Guan's long-time coach and mentor, Paul Davis, raised concerns about the possibility of Guan losing partial vision. He mentioned that the situation would become clearer once Guan is taken to Sydney for further assessment.

"It’s truly awful... this was actually the first pro-am Jeff has ever played in. It’s just the worst possible news after such an amazing week in California," Davis said as per Australian Golf Digest.

Currently ranked 989th, Guan turned professional last year and has made several professional starts since then. He finished in the top 25 at both the Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open.

Touted as the next big thing in Australian golf, Guan was the only golfer from the country to be part of the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup. In addition, he clinched the Junior Players Championship that same year. Overall, he won three titles in his amateur career and reached a career-high 45th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.