A two-time DP World Tour winner suffered a serious—and freak—off-course injury ahead of this week’s Investec South African Open.
According to Monday Q Info’s Ryan French, Andrea Pavan was badly injured after falling multiple floors down an elevator shaft in South Africa. Here’s French’s post on X:
Some horrible news from the DP event in South Africa.
Andrea Pavan, 2-time DP winner was badly injured in a freak accident at this week’s event.
According to multiple people Pavan fell down an elevator shaft after the doors opened on the floor he was on but the car itself…
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) February 26, 2026
Awful and terrifying stuff. But, at least, according to French, not life-threatening. It is believed the accident occurred at a private accommodation outside Stellenbosch Golf Club, the host course for the tournament.
Pavan withdrew from the event on Wednesday, with Richie Ramsay getting his spot in the tournament. The DP World Tour confirmed he had withdrawn due to injury but did not offer any further details for medical confidentiality reasons.
This week’s DP World Tour event in Stellenbosch, South Africa, has a lot on the line. The winner receives an invitation to the Masters in April. And the top non-exempt finishers earn spots in the Open Championship in July at Royal Birkdale.
Pavan, a 36-year-old from Italy, is a two-time DP World Tour winner, the most recent coming in 2019. He has two top-15 finishes in 2026 and is No. 249 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
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