'That’s All That Matters, As Long As She’s Okay' - Brooks Koepka 'Thankful' After Freak Cart Incident At Valspar Championship
A young girl was struck by a golf cart during the third round of the Valspar Championship, with Koepka checking on her as his pairing played through on the 15th hole
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
A scary moment halted play at the Valspar Championship on Saturday, when a golf cart struck a young girl and left her pinned underneath it at the 15th hole.
Thankfully, the girl was able to be freed, with on-course reporter, Smylie Kaufman, who was following the pairing of Brooks Koepka and Danny Walker, confirming that she was okay after being checked by medical staff.
🚨🙏🏼⛳️ #NEW — Brooks Koepka reacts after a little girl was reportedly struck, then pinned under a golf cart at the Valspar Championship. @TrackingKoepka pic.twitter.com/fTYZ8x6nXDMarch 21, 2026
Speaking after his third round, Koepka, who came over to comfort the girl struck by the cart, stated: "I just felt terrible for her, I believe her name is Shay, so from all the reports you've got she's okay, thankfully.
Article continues below"That's all that matters, as long as she's okay, I know she's probably a little scared and I just felt for her at the time. So it's unfortunate, it shouldn't have happened, but as long as she's okay, no, nothing crazy happened to her, then it will be okay."
Following on from the incident, Koepka would par the 15th, before a double bogey at the 16th led to a level-par round and four-under tournament total, seven back of leader Sungjae Im.
Insisting that what happened at the 15th didn't affect his confidence, Koepka claimed it was his poor driving throughout the day that caused him to shoot his level-par 71, which included a three-over-par back nine.
Koepka has claimed T9th and T13th results in his last two starts
"I felt good. Just played nicely the front side. Then I don't know, I drove it terrible all day. It really cost me," explained the five-time Major winner, who is T11th going into the final round and looking to carry on his good run of recent results.
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
"(I) Just put it in the worse place possible. Then from there felt like I was scrambling. But I definitely didn't hit it that great on the back side. But didn't feel like I deserved it, but at the same time I drove it so poorly.
"I drove it poorly on the front nine, you just got away with it. I've been driving it poorly all week. Drove it poorly last week.
"Yesterday I felt like I drove it well on the back side and finally started scoring. Yeah, I don't know exactly what it is, I've tried different things that I know that I'm used to doing mechanically wrong, alignment, ball position, different things like that, and I don't know just can't quite figure it out."

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round is a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.