“I will be back,” Jeffrey Guan said after the accident that nearly ended his career. Back then, playing golf again, especially at a professional level, seemed impossible. Now, almost a year later, he is set to make his return at the NT PGA Championship, a comeback that promises to inspire fans everywhere.

“I’m very excited for this week and for this season to come, but I’m very nervous. I haven’t played tournament golf for quite a while, and to think that 12 months ago I was still in hospital… It’s a crazy thing to think about,” Jeffrey Guan said. He will be teeing it up at the Northern Territory PGA Championship, which is returning to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club from 28th to 31st August. With significant upgrades to both the course and clubhouse, this year’s tournament promises to be a showcase of top-end talent, but no storyline will receive more spotlight than Guan’s.

The 21-year-old will tee it up almost exactly one year after a tragic incident at a pro-am event in New South Wales left him blind in his left eye. Just days after he made his PGA Tour debut at the 2024 Procore Championship in September, where he missed the cut by one shot, Guan was struck in the face by an errant golf ball hit by a playing partner during the round. The impact shattered his bones, ruptured his eye, and forced him to be airlifted to a hospital, where he was admitted for weeks and underwent multiple surgeries.

“I couldn’t even eat. I couldn’t really do anything. I wasn’t allowed to walk because I had to keep my eye stable,” Guan told the PGA of Australia, describing the drastic change that turned his life around in moments. For the Sydney native, it hasn’t been a journey of just physical recovery — it was emotional, mental, and deeply personal. Jeffrey Guan had to relearn all the basics — writing, walking, driving, even how to swing a golf club, all with limited depth perception.

“There were so many times in the hospital where I just thought, ‘is this going to be over?'” Guan added. That level of uncertainty would break many. But Guan was driven by resilience and fought to rebuild his life. And eventually, he found his way back to golf. But the path wasn’t easy. Even as recently as early this year, the thought of competing professionally again felt like a distant dream — “I didn’t think it was going to be this year, but then I’ve been practising and I felt really good over the ball and I was like, ‘why not give it a shot?'”

And a reassuring stretch of practice, and an inspiring round at The Australian Golf Club, changed everything for the Australian. “I shot four under at The Australian GC, and I’d hit the green in two on 18,” Guan told Golf Digest on Tuesday. “It was an easier feeling being on the green and already under par. It was cool,” he added, speaking of his third time back playing an 18-hole round after his accident.

Now, his return at the NT PGA Championship in Darwin is more than a personal milestone — it’s a powerful symbol of courage, hope, and perseverance. While Guan is experiencing an emotional rollercoaster and is experiencing a “mix of emotions” about his return, he has no expectations or an outcome in mind. “I’m coming here with really no expectations. I just want to have fun and sort of just play to see where I’m at. I’m just really, really glad to be back,” he said.

While Jeffrey Guan’s comeback is one of the most inspiring stories in the sport, his motivation to return was also fueled by messages from fellow PGA Tour players.

Jeffrey Guan received messages from PGA Tour players

Throughout his long and often isolating recovery, Guan found strength not just in rehabilitation, but in the quiet encouragement of the golfing community — including some of the biggest names. Messages of support poured in, many from people he’d never met, but it was a couple of personal texts from Aussie stars Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee that stood out most.

“There’s been golfers and even [people on social media I haven’t met] who have gone through the same incident, and it’s really helpful,” Guan said. “Min Woo and Adam have reached out. Adam has got such great character; he’s such a role model. His message was along the lines of, ‘Get well, I hope you recover soon, and want to see you smashing it back out there on tour,'” Guan spoke of the support he received during the trying times.

That support helped Guan navigate the difficult steps of his return — from relearning how to drive a car, to feeling his way back into the game through chipping and putting. It was, he admits, the hardest stretch of his life, but knowing the golf world hadn’t forgotten him made all the difference.