LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: PGA rookie Charlie Beljan was hospitalised with shortness of breath and an elevated heart rate yesterday after firing an eight-under par 64 to seize the lead at a PGA event.
Beljan, a 28-year-old American fighting to keep his playing rights for 2013 in this season’s final event, stood on 12-under par 132 with a three-shot lead after the second round of the $4.7m Children’s Miracle Network Classic.
But during a five-hour round in which he told caddie Rick Adcox that he thought his life was about to end, Beljan learned from paramedics that his blood pressure was high and he had to sit down on several occasions.
“He was scared,” Adcox said. “He kept saying he thought he was going to die. He just had that feeling. I don’t know why. But it was spooky.”
Seconds after signing his scorecard, Beljan was put on a stretcher and loaded onto an ambulance just off the 18th green at the Disney complex’s Palm course and taken to Celebration Hospital for tests.
“I thought they were going to stop him on 10 when they told him what the blood pressure was,” the caddy said.
“He just said, ‘I’m going to keep going until either I pass out or they take me off.’ I kept saying, ‘It doesn’t matter to me. It’s only a golf tournament. You’ve got many more.’”
Beljan said late yesterday night he plans to play in today’s third round and his agent, Andy Dawson, said he felt much better and planned on playing even if he was kept in the hospital overnight for observation.
“As long as they tell me I’m not going to fall over and die,” Beljan told The Golf Channel. “I’m hoping it was just a panic attack,” he added. AFP
