Andrea Pavan's Horrifying Accident

In a horrific accident, two-time DP World Tour winner Andrea Pavan fell down an elevator shaft in Cape Town, where he was scheduled to compete in the Investec South African Open. Monday Q Info reported on Wednesday that the 36-year-old Italian stepped into an open elevator doorway without realizing the car was not there and plunged multiple stories, sustaining serious injuries.

According to a source on site, Pavan was leaving his third-floor accomodations and opened a manual elevator door before realizing he had forgotten something. He returned briefly to his room, then hurried back to the elevator. In that time, the elevator car had been called to another floor, but the door had not been fully closed. Pavan stepped forward through the opening and fell down the shaft. The source said he was trapped at the bottom for an extended period before help arrived.

The career-threatening accident comes after Pavan battled through one of the most difficult stretches of his professional life.

In 2018, Pavan broke through with a victory at the D+D Real Czech Masters. The maiden DP World Tour win came after he'd been to European Q School six times and eight years after turning pro. The following season, he won the BMW International Open, climbed inside the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking and rose as high as 65th in the world.

Then he lost his game.

In 2020 and 2021, Pavan battled severe driver yips and shot in the 80s 14 times during competition, including three rounds of 87. In 2022, he made just nine of 29 cuts and lost his DP World Tour card. Through it all, he and longtime caddie Ale Molina stayed together.

“He is like a brother to me and I believe he will win again,” Molina told Ryan French in 2022.

Molina was right.

The following year, Pavan returned to the winner’s circle on the HotelPlanner Tour, capturing the D+D Real Czech Challenge and regaining DP World Tour status for the next season. He has maintained that status since.

Pavan showed signs of resurgence with a T4 finish at last year’s Genesis Championship in October and a T9 at last month’s Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. He currently sits 249th in the world and 47th in the Race to Dubai standings.

Pavan’s shoulder and back injuries were serious enough to require immediate surgery Wednesday night. Pavan's wife Audra was traveling from their home in Dallas to be with him. The couple have three children. ‍

Pavan's college teammates have set up a GoFundMe to help cover his medical care and extended hospital stay.