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UPDATE: Brooks Koepka has responded to the news.
As if the Ryder Cup couldn’t have tasted any more sour for members of Team USA, one player will have the added misery of exploding a poor woman’s eyeball. Brooks Koepka drilled 49-year-old Corine Remande in the right on on his par-4 sixth hole tee shot at Le Golf National near Paris, France, sending her to the hospital.
It has recently been reported that the woman, who traveled to the tournament from Egypt, has lost sight in her right eye.
“Doctors told me I had lost the use of that eye,” Corine told AFP.
A scan revealed that Remande’s right eye-socket is fractured and that her eyeball suffered an “explosion,” BBC reports.
“It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit,” Corine said. “I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye and then I felt the blood start to pour. The scan on Friday confirmed a fracture of the right eye socket and an explosion of the eyeball.”
Koepka offered a sincere apology and signed a glove for the woman as a peace treaty, but evidently, that was not enough. The woman is considering taking legal action.
The 28-year-old golfer said after the incident, which occurred on the Ryder Cup’s opening day:
“You don’t want to hit anybody in the face, especially not a woman, and it’s not a good feeling,” said Kopeka.
A Ryder Cup spokesperson released a statement Tuesday morning, saying that it was “distressing to hear that someone might suffer long term consequences from a ball strike.”
“The spectator hit by a ball at the 6th hole during Friday’s play was treated by first responders immediately and taken to hospital,” the statement said. “We have been in communication with the family involved, starting with the immediate on-course treatment and thereafter to provide support, helping with the logistics of repatriation, including providing a transfer for the family from Paris to Lyon. We will continue to offer support for as long as necessary.
“Ball strikes are an occasional hazard for spectators but this kind of incident is extremely rare. We can confirm that ‘fore’ was shouted several times but also appreciate how hard it can be to know when and where every ball is struck if you are in the crowd. We are hugely sympathetic and will do everything we can to support the spectator, insofar as that is possible under very difficult circumstances.”
I love the disclaimer here: ‘well, we yelled ‘fore’ like a few times.’ It really sucks that this lady got injured, but to pursue legal action for voluntarily putting yourself in potential danger feels a bit opportunistic to me. Shit, who am I kidding, I’d do the same shit. $$$$.
[h/t ESPN]