Back in September 2024, Jeffrey Guan was struck by an errant tee-shot of a pro-am participant at the NSW Open regional qualifier, leaving him blinded in his left eye.
Now though, less than a year on from the freak accident, the 20-year-old has spoken about when he might make a miraculous return to competitive action.
Speaking in an interview with Australian Golf Digest,, Guan explained that he is hoping to complete his comeback at the PGA Tour of Australasia's Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship, which takes place at Palmerston Golf Course on the 28th - 31st August.
"The NT PGA is what we’re looking at right now," stated Guan, who added "I’m hopeful of getting starts in most of the events this season with my status carrying over, but the Northern Territory event is the focus for me right now.
"I’m excited, but I’m nervous because I don’t know how it’s going to go. I’ve got so many mixed feelings all at once right now – it’s going to be interesting."
At the end of October 2024, Guan spoke for the first time after the accident, with the young Aussie determined to continue pursuing his dream of playing at the elite level.
Revealing that he had suffered “several fractures around the eye socket” and “had lost vision completely in my left eye," Guan is still adapting to everyday life, but thanks to fundraising efforts from family, friends and the golf community, he is able to make a return, something that, post-accident, he never imagined was possible.
"Honestly, I thought there was no chance I was going to be playing this season," explained Guan. "In those first few weeks after the accident, I was just mentally not there – I couldn’t really process what had just happened.
"Even now, the whole thing is just so hard for me to explain. I genuinely thought that I was going to be out for, maybe, six to eight months, and then with everything changing, I was just so scared that I couldn’t even hit the golf ball.
"But, with so many improvements over that time, it just gave me a bit more confidence. Luckily, my swing is still in some sort of shape – even though it might not be the most perfect swing – I still know what it feels like to hit a golf ball."
Aiming to return at the end of August, Guan will be working hard on his game, with the Aussie using a training aid to help with shots in the bunker, specifically around depth perception, as well as a new yardage book that has his updated numbers with the swing.
Reportedly, on his return to the course, Guan fired a three-over-par round from the members' tees in his first official 18 hole round since the accident.
Although it's not the scores which saw him register top 10s at PGA Tour of Australasia events, Guan is delighted to be back on the course, acknowledging it's not going to be easy.
"I can never say this comeback is going to be easy, but as I keep practicing and playing, I know I’ll get more and more of a feeling of where I can get to.
"Mum and Dad have obviously been amazing. They know it’s always been my dream to play on tour and become a top-100 player in the world. That’s always been the dream of mine.
"I won’t give up on that. But I think with the targets I have currently, it’s all about retaining my card in my first year back, and then, hopefully, I can build up some momentum from there."
