Andrea Pavan ‘thankful to be alive’ after reportedly falling down lift shaft

Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is “thankful to be alive” after reportedly falling three floors down a lift shaft.

The 36-year-old, a two-time DP World Tour winner, was scheduled to be playing in this week’s Investec South African Open Championship at Stellenbosch Golf Club but was forced to withdraw after the incident on Wednesday.

According to reports, the accident, which happened in his private accommodation, occurred when the lift doors opened, but there was no lift car in the shaft, and Pavan fell, sustaining multiple injuries.

Italian media claim he underwent a six-hour operation to reduce several vertebral fractures and implant a plate in his shoulder and is in a serious but not life-threatening condition.

“By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids,” Pavan’s former college coach JT Higgins told Golf Channel.

The DP World Tour has yet to comment on the incident.