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A professional golfer has vowed to continue pursuing his dream career despite permanently losing sight in his left eye in a freak accident on the course last month.
Australian Jeffrey Guan, 20, was struck in the face by a ball during a Pro-Am tournament in New South Wales in September, sustaining fractures to his left cheekbone and eye socket.
Guan spent two weeks in intensive care, before he was transferred to Sydney for a second operation on his injuries.
The incident happened just a week after Guan, a two-time Australian junior amateur champion, made his PGA Tour debut in the Procore Championship in California.
Guan has received diagnosis from eye experts and said doctors informed him that he had permanently lost vision in his left eye as a result of the accident.
The PGA of Australian and the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) have launched an online fundraiser to raise $500,000 for Guan, who is refusing to give up on his dream to play on the PGA Tour.
“As you can imagine, this whole situation not only came at a tremendous cost but has also significantly affected me and my family emotionally and mentally,” Guan said in a statement.
“The thought of all my years of hard work and training, plus my family’s sacrifice, had just been thrown out the window.
“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.”
Guan was playing in the Pro-Am a week after making his PGA Tour debut when the freak accident occured. He said he had hit his second shot from the third fairway before turning back to put his club in his bag.
“That was when I was struck,” Guan said. “The instant ringing and pain rushed to my head, and I dropped to the ground.”
