Italian golfer Andrea Pavan says he is recovering in hospital after suffering serious injuries after falling down an elevator shaft.
Pavan was in Cape Town for the Investec South African Open, which began on February 26, when he suffered the freak accident at his private accommodation on Wednesday.
Pavan called for the elevator but failed to notice, when the doors opened, that there was no elevator car waiting to collect him. He fell down three floors and was taken to the hospital for treatment on his injuries.
The 36-year-old, who was born in Rome but is a Texas A&M alumnus and now the world No 249, said in a statement released by the DP World Tour on Friday he was recovering after undergoing shoulder and back surgery.
The incident was first reported by Ryan French, a golf journalist who runs the Monday Q Info account on X. The nature of the accident has since been verified by The Athletic.
When contacted by The Athletic, a DP World Tour spokesperson confirmed that Pavan withdrew from the tournament at Stellenbosch Golf Club due to injury but said they could not give any more details on the incident due to medical confidentiality.
“I would like to say a big thank you for all the kind words and wishes I have received over the last 48 hours,” Pavan said. “I had surgery on my shoulder and my back on Wednesday evening and I am currently recovering in hospital.
“I now have a lot of rehab and hard work ahead of me, but the care I have received so far from the Mediclinic hospital staff has been incredible, as has the support from the DP World Tour, the Sunshine Tour and all their staff here in Stellenbosch. I am also very grateful for all the help (South African Open board member) Johann Rupert and his wife Gaynor have given me.
“The last two days have been difficult, but I am in very good hands and to have so many players, caddies and staff visit and contact me has meant a lot to me.
“Grazie mille everyone, from me, my wife Audra, and my entire family.”
Pavan was last in action at the Qatar Masters earlier this month. (Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Matt Van Zandt, a former college teammate of Pavan’s from Texas A&M, to support Pavan’s recovery and has raised more than $27,000.
The page says that Pavan, who is married with three children, was taken to a local hospital with “significant injuries to his shoulder and back, including severe shoulder damage and fractures to several vertebrae.”
It added that he had undergone at least one major surgery and will need further medical care and additional procedures, and is expected to remain in South Africa “for many weeks before he can be safely evaluated for travel back to the U.S.”
It added that the funds raised will go towards “medical expenses, extended stay in South Africa, transportation back home to the Dallas area, ongoing medical care and hopefully some extra to ease the uncertainty of his professional golf future.”
Pavan, who turned professional in 2010, is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and has eight wins overall. He has appeared at three majors: the U.S. Open in 2014 and 2025, and the 2019 Open.
His most significant win to date arrived in 2019 when he overcame Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to be crowned winner of the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.
His most recent appearance was at the Qatar Masters in Doha earlier this month, where he missed the cut.
“By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids,” said J.T. Higgins, Pavan’s former college coach, via Golfchannel.com.