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Reports: Italian golfer Pavan badly injured from fall down elevator shaft when car was not there

STELLENBOSCH, South Africa (AP) — Italian golfer Andrea Pavan was badly injured from a fall down an elevator shaft when the doors opened and he was unaware the car wasn’t there, according to multiple reports.

Golf Channel cited people on a text thread with Pavan’s friends on the European tour and former Texas A&M teammates in reporting he suffered injuries to his back and shoulder and had undergone surgery Wednesday night in South Africa.

Pavan was scheduled to play in the South African Open, which began Thursday.

“By all accounts, he’s in good spirits, thankful to be alive and FaceTiming with his kids,” J.T. Higgins, his former coach at Texas A&M, told Golf Channel. Higgins said he had not spoken with Pavan but was updated on his condition.

Golf Channel reported Pavan was staying near Cape Town and called for an elevator. He fell three stories and was taken to the hospital for surgery. The European tour, citing medical confidentiality, could only report he had withdrawn from the South African Open due to injury.

Pavan, 36, is a two-time winner on the European tour. His most recent victory was a playoff win over Matt Fitzpatrick in the 2019 BMW International Open.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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