A serious safety concern halted play on Copperhead’s 15th hole Saturday.
On-course reporter and PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman was following the pairing of Brooks Koepka and Danny Walker when a girl was struck by a golf cart and pinned underneath it. Kaufman said the girl was checked out by medical staff at the Valspar Championship and no injuries were reported.
“Brooks Koepka went underneath the ropes to talk to the girl and comfort her,” Kaufman said during the third round coverage on NBC.
“She’s going to be OK after medical evaluation,” Kaufman reported when the coverage returned to No. 15. “Very scary moment … I am sure Brooks Koepka’s head is still spinning a little bit.”
The vehicle was reportedly carrying fans around the course when the incident happened.
Koepka went on to par the hole but double bogeyed on the 16th.
“She’s OK, thankfully, so that’s all that matters,” Koepka told reporters. “I know she’s probably a little scared, and I just felt for her at the time.”
“It’s unfortunate, it shouldn’t have happened,” he added. “But as long as she’s OK — and nothing crazy happened to her, then it will be OK.”
Koepka finished with even-par 71 on the round and sits T-11 on the tournament. He is four strokes behind leader Sungjae Im who is eyeing a wire-to-wire victory at Innisbrook.