The leaderboard at the Valspar Championship became irrelevant in an instant on Saturday. A frightening golf cart incident at the par-3 15th, involving a little girl, brought play to a halt. Without hesitation, Brooks Koepka abandoned his round and comforted her. Thankfully, in his post-round presser, the major champion finally provided an update on her well-being.
“I just felt terrible for, I believe, her name is Shay. From all the reports I have gotten, she’s okay, thankfully. That’s all that matters, as long as she is okay. I know she’s probably scared. I just felt for her at the time,” he said. “It’s unfortunate; it shouldn’t have happened, but as long as she’s okay and nothing crazy happened to her, then it will be okay.”
Advertisement
Right after Brooks Koepka and Danny Walker hit their tee shots on the par-3 15th hole, a golf cart struck a young girl and pinned her underneath it in the spectator area. It is being said that the chart was carrying fans around at the time.
Koepka saw it happen and immediately broke from the group, ducked under the ropes, and went straight to her, kneeling beside her and talking to her while medical personnel rushed to the scene. On-course medics arrived quickly and confirmed she escaped without serious injuries.
On-course reporter and former PGA Tour pro Smylie Kaufmann captured the moment live on NBC and called it a very scary one. Kaufman expressed concern that it may impact Koepka’s game. The golfer thought otherwise, but the numbers show the impact.
Before the incident, on the front nine, the 5x major winner had made 3 birdies. He made par on the 15th but dropped two shots on the very next hole, making a double-bogey six on the par-4 16th. He finished with an even-par 71, sitting at four under for the tournament, seven shots behind leader Sungjae Im. Americans Brandt Snedeker and David Lipsky sit at nine under, while Australia’s Karl Vilips is even par overall after a third-round 72.
Advertisement
Interestingly, this is not the first time a golf cart on the Tour has injured a spectator.
Golf cart incidents have been a recurring safety concern on the PGA Tour
Back at the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open, a fan was hit and dragged by a cart for roughly 30 feet, requiring hospital treatment, making it the most severe publicly reported cart-spectator incident in PGA Tour history.
The problem has surfaced at major championships, too. During the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, a spectator reported that a media cart struck them from behind when they were near the ropes.
It is not just spectators at risk either. At the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic, Cristie Kerr and her caddie were injured in a collision between two golf carts before the round even began.
Advertisement
Taken together, these incidents show that golf carts are not fully safe during a tournament because of the crowd, but having them is necessary to avoid operational issues.
Read the full article here