A young child was hit by a golf cart and ended up underneath during the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, with Brooks Koepka rushing to console the girl and her family
21:06 ET, 21 Mar 2026Updated 21:06 ET, 21 Mar 2026
Brooks Koepka happened to be nearby during a scary incident at the Valspar Championship on Saturday(Image: James Gilbert, Getty Images)
A young girl was struck by a golf cart on Saturday during the third round of the 2026 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Golf and Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
The child was reported to be ‘OK,’ according to the NBC broadcast of the PGA Tour event, despite becoming trapped underneath the vehicle. Former LIV Golf player Brooks Koepka was in the vicinity when the accident happened and immediately rushed over to comfort the injured youngster.
Koepka stayed with the girl’s family near the 15th hole for several minutes, according to broadcasters Dan Hicks and Smylie Kaufman. Both Koepka and his playing partner Danny Walker experienced a brief delay before resuming their round. It comes after a PGA Tour star received a dress code warning after constantly breaking the rules.
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Hicks was first to alert viewers to the situation. “Right now, there is a lot of concern over at the 15th hole where Brooks Koepka is playing. You can see Koepka has come underneath the ropes near a golf cart,, which ran into a little girl,” he said.
“She actually ended up under the cart. Smylie Kaufman, you saw it actually happen. What can you tell us about it?”
Koepka stayed on hand to make sure the girl was unharmed after the incident(Image: James Gilbert, Getty Images)
Kaufman, who witnessed the incident firsthand on the course, provided additional details. “Well, it was a very scary situation, just a vehicle that was transporting fans out here,” he explained to viewers.
“Not sure if she just got in the way, but it was obviously very scary. Brooks, everyone ran over here to make sure she’s OK. Her parents are here. Brooks has sat here talking to the little girl and comforted her. But a very, very scary situation, and I think everybody’s just trying to get their breath back.”
Kaufman later confirmed the young girl was fine. “I’m just being told by security here that the little girl is OK. Medical was not needed in evaluation, and she’s going to be just OK,” he said.
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The incident occurred while Koepka was playing the 15th hole. The 35-year-old, himself a father to a young son, kept his cool and completed the hole with a par. His son, Crew Sims Koepka, is two years old.
“Really impressive, too, Brooks Koepka, he was the first one over there,” Kaufman observed. “Of course, he’s a dad, I think we can all relate to that, just a scary situation. I imagine his head is spinning a little bit, but a lot of work to be done trying to get back into this somehow.”
Through 16 holes, Koepka was level for the day, placing him in an eight-way deadlock for 11th at 4-under – sharing the position with his playing partner, Walker. Sungjae Im holds the lead at 12-under.