Man hit by ball during Tour Championship improving

The man who was struck by a golf ball at the Tour Championship on Saturday said he’s doing much better.

David Whitfield, of Atlanta, was standing beside the fairway at No. 9 when he was struck by an errant shot from Anthony Kim during the third round at East Lake Golf Club.

The ball hit Whitfield above his right eyebrow, and he said the ricochet grazed the back of his wife’s head.

Whitfield said he’s still a little sore, and that his eye is swollen. He said he’s actually fairly lucky.

“I got hit in the right place,” said Whitfield, who sells real estate at Sugarloaf Country Club. “If I had been hit anywhere else it would have torn my face all to pieces.”

A doctor who was standing next to Whitfield made him lay down, while he put pressure on the wound. Whitfield was taken to DeKalb Medical. Doctors there put eight stitches under the skin, and then glued it back together.

Kim gave Whitfield’s wife a signed ball that said “Sorry for the hook, Anthony Kim,” as well as a signed glove. Whitfield said he has the ball on his desk at home.

Coincidentally, Whitfield is a former pro golfer who said he played in five PGA events, as well as on several mini-tours. He said he was rooting for Kim on Sunday and joked that that was the first, and hopefully last time he’ll ever be hit.

“It can happen to anyone,” he said.