The leaderboard at the Valspar Championship became irrelevant in an instant on Saturday. A frightening golf cart accident on the par-3 15th involving a little girl brought play to a halt. Without hesitation, Brooks Koepka stopped his round and ran to help her. In his post-round presser, the major champion finally provided an update on her health.

“I just felt terrible for, I believe, her name is Shay. From all the reports I have gotten, she’s okay, thankfully. That’s all that matters, as long as she is okay. I know she’s probably scared. I just felt for her at the time,” he said. “It’s unfortunate; it shouldn’t have happened, but as long as she’s okay and nothing crazy happened to her, then it will be okay.”

After Brooks Koepka and Danny Walker hit their tee shots on the par-3 15th hole, a golf cart struck a young girl and pinned her underneath it. Reportedly, the cart was carrying the spectators at that time. Koepka saw it happen while walking down the fairway and immediately broke from the group, ducked under the ropes.

The five-time major winner, himself a father of a toddler, went straight to the little girl, knelt beside her to offer comfort while medical personnel rushed to the scene. Brooks Koepka stayed with the little girl for several minutes, according to on-course reporter Dan Hicks. Their round was delayed for a few minutes.

Furthermore, on-course reporter and former PGA Tour pro Smylie Kaufman was following the group at that time. He also ducked under the ropes to help the girl. Medics arrived quickly and confirmed she didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Nevertheless, it was a tense few minutes, and Kaufman’s words evinced as much.

“Very scary moment … I am sure Brooks Koepka’s head is still spinning a little bit,” the 34-year-old analyst said afterward.

It did make Koepka’s head spin a bit. He saved par on the 15th but dropped two shots on the very next hole, making a double-bogey six on the par-4 16th. In sharp contrast, before the accident, the five-time major winner picked up three birdies. He finished with an even-par 71, sitting at four under for the tournament, seven shots behind leader Sungjae Im. Americans Brandt Snedeker and David Lipsky sit at nine under, while Australia’s Karl Vilips is even par overall after a third-round 72.

Interestingly, this is not the first time a serious accident has happened in a professional tournament.

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Accidents in professional golf aren’t uncommon

Brooks Koepka, himself, has been involved in a scary accident involving a spectator at the 2018 Ryder Cup. His wayward tee shot hit a spectator’s eye, resulting in permanent vision loss. The five-time major champion later said that it was the “worst” day of his life.

“My stomach sank. Yesterday was probably one of the hardest days trying to focus and play golf, just knowing what was going to come when I was done,” Brooks Koepka said afterward.

Tee shots landing amid spectators is a common sight in golf. But serious injury is extremely rare. Rarer is a spectator getting smacked on the face by a broken club. But that has happened.

In 2018, Kevin Stadler slammed his club on the turf in anger at the WinCo Foods Portland Open. The club head came off and flew toward a spectator. The fan needed six stitches on his head.

In the very same year, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a fan was hit and dragged by a cart for roughly 30 feet, requiring hospital treatment, making it the most severe publicly reported cart-related accident in PGA Tour history. The problem has surfaced at major championships, too.

During the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, a spectator reported that a media cart struck them from behind when they were near the ropes. Lauren Lilley went on to sue the course, the golf tour, and CBS. It is not just spectators at risk either.

At the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic, Cristie Kerr and her caddie were injured in a golf cart accident. It was early morning before the second round when their carts collided with a pole because of low visibility. Both suffered serious injuries and spent long hours inside the emergency room before getting discharged in the evening. Kerr suffered three rib dislocations but made a return to the greens just six days later at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Taken together, these incidents show that golf carts are not fully safe during a tournament because of the crowd, but having them is necessary to avoid operational issues.