Andrea Pavan, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, has been “badly injured” in what is being described as a “freak accident” involving an elevator shaft while in South Africa this week for a golf tournament, according to reports.
The Italian golfer, 36, “fell down an elevator shaft after the doors opened on the floor he was on, but the car itself wasn’t there,” Monday Q Info, a noted golf account, posted Thursday on its social media pages, citing “multiple people.”
Although Pavan “was in surgery for hours,” Monday Q Info reported the individuals they conversed with indicated “the injuries don’t seem to be life-threatening.”
In a statement to Bunkered, a spokesperson for the DP World Tour said Pavan “withdrew” from the Investec South African Open Championship because of injury.
The opening round of the tournament began Thursday.
The publication added the incident transpired at Pavan’s “private accommodation.”
Sources relayed to Golf Channel Thursday that Pavan fell “three stories” and sustained shoulder and back injuries.
A confidant of Pavan, who attended Texas A&M, believes the athlete is in “good spirits.”
“By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids,” J.T. Higgins, Pavan’s former college coach, told Golf Channel.
He had not yet spoken to Pavan, “but was being updated on his condition,” per Golf Channel.
Ranked 249th in the world, Pavan made three starts in 2026, including this month’s Qatar Masters, where he missed the cut.
His two wins on the DP World Tour were the 2018 D+D Real Czech Masters and the 2019 BMW International Open.
