Padraig Harrington forced to withdraw from Memphis after bizarre pro-am injury

In 2017, pro golfers have suffered some bizarre injuries, and several of them happened on the golf course during pro-am events.

Padraig Harrington became the latest pro to go down at a pro-am clinic, pulling out of the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Tuesday.

On Monday at a clinic near Washington, D.C., Harrington was trying to teach a golfer about the swing on the range when he was struck by the amateur’s golf club on his elbow during the swing. The pain and injury were bad enough to compel Harrington, who just came back from neck surgery, to withdraw from the final PGA Tour event ahead of the U.S. Open.

“There’s no truth to the rumor it was the amateur’s best strike of the day,” Harrington joked to the Associated Press after needing six stitches to repair the gashing wound at the bursa sac.

Harrington initially thought the elbow was shattered.

“Caught me on the left elbow — middle of the clubface, middle of the elbow,” Harrington said of the swing, which the amateur made after Harrington was showing how to swing to play against a hook.

The three-time major winner came back to the course after a brief emergency room visit, assuaging the amateur, who felt guilty about what happened.

“When I came back from the hospital, I gave him a big hug,” Harrington said. “It was a pure accident. These things happen. I know he felt bad. And he actually told me I straightened out his hook.”

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Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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