RYDER CUP FAN HIT BY BALL LOSES VISION
Lehman interested in TV analyst post
Euro Tour says it will help spectator, who was struck by drive from Brooks Koepka last Friday. She blames Ryder Cup organizers for the accident.
PARIS — Ryder Cup organizers say they will support “for as long as necessary” the spectator who was hit by a tee shot and has reportedly lost sight in her right eye.
The injured spectator, who has been identified as 49-year-old Corine Remande in French press, was hospitalized after being hit on the head by an errant drive from Brooks Koepka on the sixth hole at Le Golf National last Friday.
She’s reportedly said she is considering legal action after doctors told her she lost vision in her eye.
The European Tour said in a statement on Tuesday: “We have been in communication with the family involved, starting with the immediate on-course treatment and thereafter to provide support, helping with the logistics of repatriation, including providing a transfer for the family from Paris to Lyon. We will continue to offer support for as long as necessary.
“It is distressing to hear that someone might suffer long-term consequences from a ball strike.”
According to reports in French media, Remande also blamed Ryder Cup organizers for the lack of protection on the course. She said a course official did not shout when he noticed the ball was headed toward the crowd.
The Tour said: “Ball strikes are an occasional hazard for spectators but this kind of incident is extremely rare. We can confirm that ‘fore’ was shouted several times but also appreciate how hard it can be to know when and where every ball is struck if you are in the crowd. We are hugely sympathetic and will do everything we can to support the spectator, insofar as that is possible under very difficult circumstances.”
LEHMAN FUTURE: Johnny Miller isn’t sure how much longer he will be in the broadcast booth for NBC Sports. Among those who might be interested in succeeding him is Tom Lehman.
Lehman has made a few appearances in the booth the last few years, “enough to know it’s not as easy as it looks,” he said. That includes the Dell Match Play in Texas, the Phoenix Open where he lives, the Houston Open for one day and the British Open.
“I do like it,” he said. “I think if the right situation popped up, absolutely I’d take advantage of it,” he said. “If something came of it, I think it would be a nice transition for the next stage of my life.”
DIVOTS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau failed to win a match at the Ryder Cup. The last time the Americans had three players not contribute a point was in 1957 at Lindrick Golf Club in England, when Ed Furgol, Lionel Hebert and Art Wall each went 0-1. That was when the Ryder Cup featured 12 matches, not 28. STAT OF THE WEEK: Three of the last five Ryder Cup victories for Europe have been by at least seven points. The only other margin that large was by the U.S. team in 1981.