Italian golfer Andrea Pavan traveled to South Africa chasing a career changing opportunity. Instead, he found himself fighting through a life threatening scare after a bizarre elevator accident that abruptly ended his week before the tournament even began.
The DP World Tour regular was preparing for the Investec South African Open when a routine moment at his hotel turned into a devastating fall.
According to Sports Illustrated, Pavan called an elevator at his accommodation near Cape Town. When the doors opened, the lift car was not there.
Unaware of the danger, he stepped forward and plunged roughly three floors down the shaft. The 36 year old sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he underwent hours of emergency surgery.
Early updates indicate his condition is serious but stable, and the injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
Pavan‘s former college coach, J.T. Higgins, later offered a glimpse into his recovery on The Golf Channel, saying, “By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids.”
A tournament dream suddenly derailed
The accident forced Pavan to withdraw from the South African Open, one of the most significant events early in the DP World Tour season, as per The Times.
The winner earns a place at the Masters, along with a substantial prize purse, making it a rare gateway to golf’s biggest stage.
Pavan had reason to be optimistic entering the week. He opened the season with encouraging results, including a strong finish at the Dubai Desert Classic and another top performance in Bahrain.
Those results hinted at a potential resurgence for a player who has spent much of his career hovering just outside the elite tier.
Ranked outside the world’s top 200, Pavan has relied on consistency rather than star power. But events like the South African Open offer players in his position a chance to transform their season overnight. Instead, his focus shifted from competition to recovery in a matter of seconds.
Recovery now becomes the priority
Details about his injuries suggest significant trauma to the shoulder and back, with reports of vertebral fractures that required surgical repair.
Italian media described a lengthy procedure to stabilize the damage and implant hardware in his shoulder. The incident occurred at his private accommodation rather than at the golf course, underscoring the randomness of the accident.
Pavan is a two time DP World Tour champion, having won the D and D Real Czech Masters in 2018 and the BMW International Open the following year.
A former standout at Texas A and M, he built his professional career through perseverance and steady performance across international tours.
Friends say his outlook remains positive despite the severity of the fall. Surviving a drop of that height without catastrophic injury is being viewed as remarkable.
The immediate timeline for his return to competition remains unclear, but the consensus is that his health, not golf, will dictate the next steps.
For now, the sport pauses while Pavan begins the long process of healing from an accident that turned a promising week into a frightening reminder of how quickly circumstances can change.
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