According to reports, 49-year-old Corine Remande's eyeball "exploded" after US golfer Brooks Koepka careened a tee shot into a crowd of spectators lining the sixth hole Friday, the first day of the team competition between the US and Europe.
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Remande, who traveled from Egypt for the tournament, was treated by first responders and rushed to a local hospital. She was later transferred to the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon.
"It happened so fast, I didn't feel any pain when I was hit," Remande recently told AFP. "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."
Remande is considering legal action, claiming that there were no warning shouts by organizers that the ball was flying towards the crowd. The European Tour, the co-organizer of the event, is currently investigating the incident.
"It is distressing to hear that someone might suffer long-term consequences from a ball strike," a Ryder Cup spokesperson told the New York Post Tuesday, adding that warning shouts were in fact made.
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"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," the spokesperson added.
According to reports, 28-year-old Koepka rushed to Remande's aid after the incident, apologizing to the fan and signing a glove for her.
"You don't want to hit anybody in the face, especially not a woman, and it's not a good feeling," Koepka said after the tournament, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
"It doesn't feel good. You feel terrible for them. You know exactly how they are feeling, especially when you've got to go over to apologize because they are in pain, usually bleeding, and then to hit her in the face is not — you don't want to hit anyone in the face, especially not a woman. I just wanted to get out of there," Koepka added.
Europe went on to beat the USA 17.5 to 10.5 by the end of the tournament Sunday.
