ESPN reporter Sage Steele suffered a brutal shot to the face from pro golfer Jon Rahm’s errant tee shot Thursday at the PGA Championship in Oklahoma, according to reports.
The unfortunate accident occurred at the tee of the third hole, where Rahm’s shot took a strong hook toward some trees behind which media members were watching.
According to reporter Geoff Shackelford, Rahm tried to warn the gallery of the errant ball.
“I was standing behind the tee when Rahm hit a hard hook into the left trees,” Shackelford wrote. “He immediately yelled ‘Fore Left!’ and aggressively waved his arm pointing left. The impact must have been brutal: Rahm’s tee shot ended up in the center of the fairway.”
Jon Rahn reacts to a shot at the 2017 PGA Championship (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
The golf writer added that the witness said he “saw her on the ground, holding her nose, mouth or chin area,” and her hands were “covered in blood.” She was also reportedly taken to a hospital.
So far, neither the PGA, ESPN, nor Sage Steele have commented on the incident.
Steele was at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to cover the tournament for ESPN, but her duties were reportedly done for the day, and she was simply acting as a spectator in the media section of the hole.
Sage Steele at the Players Tailgate in Los Angeles, California (Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
TV cameras did not record the accident because Rahm’s shot was so far off the fairway that the camera could not catch it. No broadcasters made mention of the incident as it happened, either. And it does not appear that Rahm knew what had happened.
According to the New York Post, Steele went straight home from the hospital and will not participate in any more coverage of the PGA Championship.
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