Golfer Andrea Pavan 'thankful to be alive' after reportedly falling down lift shaft

Italy's Andrea Pavan on the 4th during day one of the Betfred British Masters at Close House Golf Club, Newcastle.

Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is “thankful to be alive” after reportedly falling three floors down a lift shaft.

The 36-year-old, a two-time European Tour winner, was scheduled to be playing in this week’s South African Open Championship at Stellenbosch Golf Club but was forced to withdraw after the incident on Wednesday.

According to reports the accident, which happened in his private accommodation, occurred when the lift doors opened but there was no lift car in the shaft and Pavan fell, sustaining multiple injuries.

Italian media reports say he underwent a six-hour operation to reduce several vertebral fractures and implant a plate in his shoulder and is in a serious but not life-threatening condition.

“By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids,” Pavan’s former college coach JT Higgins told the Golf Channel.

Currently ranked No 249 in the OWGR rankings, Pavan’s career wins include the 2019 BMW International Open, where he beat England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff. 

That year he also achieved his career-best ranking of No 65. He qualified for last year’s US Open but did not make the halfway cut.

The DP World Tour has yet to comment on the incident.

- The Guardian