The History Of Accident Prone Golfers

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

OUCH! THAT HAS JUST GOT TO HURT

MOST of you will have seen pictures of the finger injury Jamie Donaldson suffered after losing control of a chainsaw. He was extemely lucky that he didn't lose the little finger of his left hand – an injury that would surely have ended his career as a tournament player.

Donaldson appeared to make light of the situation, posting an image on Twitter with the following message: “So folks in my time off decided to have a fight with a chainsaw and lost! Oops!! C u in Dubai.”

So folks in my time off decided to have a fight with a chainsaw and lost! Oops!! C u in Dubai???? pic.twitter.com/uyVFfnsULL

— Jamie Donaldson (@DonaldsonJamie) January 18, 2016

He had a lean 2015 season, when he finished in the top 10 on just four occasions on the European and PGA Tours. However, he claimed his first victory in more than a year on the Asian Tour’s Thailand Golf Championship just before Christmas. He had been due to play at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a tournament he won in 2013.

He is not the first golfer to have trouble with a chainsaw. In 2014, Greg Norman nearly cut off his left hand while using one to chop wood. You do wonder why a professional golfer would ever go near a chainsaw, especially since the likes of Norman and Donaldson could easily afford to employ somebody to do the work for them.

Top golfers seem to be especially vulnerable to hand injuries. Some years ago, Mark Roe was sidelined for weeks after a serious hand injury suffered when his dog pulled awkwardly on its lead.

Then there was Jose Maria Olazabal. After a particularly trying day at the US Open, a frustrated Olazabal returned to his hotel room. Did he chill out with a beer? No. Did he relax with a nice meal? No. Did he chat with friends? Erm, no. Did he go for a dip in the hotel pool? Not exactly. Olly decided it would be better fun to return to his room and punch the wall with all his might. Did it hurt? Yes it did.

Lee Trevino was struck by lightning during the Western Open at Butler National Club near Chicago. Trevino was rushed to hospital along with playing partner Jerry Heard, but emerged with a smile. His advice to golfers threatened by electric storms in future? Hold up a one-iron to the sky. “Even God can’t hit a one-iron,” he said.

Sam Torrance has suffered a plethora of injuries, mostly sustained during his regular sleepwalking sojourns, and Graeme McDowell slammed a door on his hand while sleepwalking in China. Phil Mickelson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Oliver Wilson and Chris DiMarco have all injured themselves while skiing and Robert Garrigus pulled a shoulder muscle as a result of, wait for it... too many fist pumps.

Then there was Thomas Levet, who celebrated his victory at the French Open in 2011 by jumping in a lake beside the 18th green – and broke his leg. Some months later, he slipped and fell on the 11th tee at the Volvo Champions event in South Africa and broke a rib. And John Daly pulled a muscle when he pulled out of swing after being distracted by a spectator – he then tried to sue the torunament organisers.

Worst of all, however, was the fate that befell Jack Newton, of Australia. He was one of the best golfers in the world when, in June 1983 he walked into the spinning propeller of a Cessna aeroplane at Sydney airport and lost his right arm and right eye. He was just 33 years old at the time.