A fan was hit by a broken club and required stiches Friday at the Web.com Tour’s WinCo Foods Portland Open.
According to ESPN.com, Kevin Stadler slammed his club in frustration causing his clubhead to break and it struck a fan in the head.
The fan required six stiches and was released from the hospital.
Orlando Pope, a Web.com Tour rules official, spoke with ESPN.com:
“It was a very freakish accident. Kevin is devastated. He had trouble trying to finish the round. He was quite worried and felt so bad.”
Former PGA champion Shaun Micheel was in Stadler’s group and posted this message on Facebook:
Full-field scores from the WinCo Foods Portland Open
“One of my playing partners played a poor shot with a 7 iron on the par 3 fifteenth hole this morning. In a fit of anger he slammed his club against the ground and the side of his foot which caused the club to break about 6” from the bottom. I had my head down but the clubhead flew behind me and hit a spectator to my right. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so much blood. We stayed with him for about 15 minutes before the EMT’s arrived. The last I heard was that he had a possible skull fracture but that he was doing ok otherwise. [Stadler] was absolutely shattered and we did our best to keep his spirits up. This was not done on purpose and we were astounded at the way the club was directed but it shows you just how dangerous it is to throw or break clubs. Each of us in the group learned something today!”
