Ryder Cup spectator 'loses sight in one eye and will sue' after being hit in face by Brooks Koepka shot

'It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit. I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye and then I felt the blood start to pour'

A Ryder Cup spectator who was hit by a golf ball has said it caused "an explosion" of her right eyeball causing her to permanently lose sight.

Corine Remande was struck in the face by a wayward tee shot from American Brooks Koepka at Le Golf National’s sixth hole on Friday.

The 49-year-old was taken away with a bandaged eye but tournament officials said at the time her injuries were “not serious”.

However, Ms Remande said a scan at a hospital in Paris showed she had suffered a fractured eye socket and “an explosion of the eyeball”.

“Doctors told me I had lost the use of that eye,” she told Agence France Presse news agency, adding: “It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit. I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye and then I felt the blood start to pour.

“The scan on Friday confirmed a fracture of the right eye-socket and an explosion of the eyeball.”

Ms Remande, who had travelled from Egypt with her husband to watch the Ryder Cup, criticised tournament organisers for “not making contact” after the incident to check on her condition.

She said she was considering legal action against them.


 Corine Remande receives medical treatment after being hit by Brooks Boepka's shot 
 (EPA)

She also claimed there was “no warning shout from the course official when the ball was heading towards the crowd”.

The spectator said she would meet with a lawyer to draft a complaint.

She praised Koepka, 28, who headed over to check on her after she was hit by his shot.

The 2018 PGA Championship winner said: “It looked like it hurt. She was bleeding pretty good. It looked like it hit her right in the eye, so hopefully there’s no, you know, loss of vision or anything like that.

“It doesn’t feel good, it really doesn’t. You feel terrible for them.”

The European Tour said it would “investigate” the incident but it would “take some time”.