
Sage Steele, longtime anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter, appeared on the show on Wednesday for the first time since she was struck in the face by a golf ball at the PGA Championship last month.
Steele, seemingly no worse for the wear after she was bloodied by an errant shot off the club of John Rahm on May 20, was emotional and seemed to fight back tears while addressing the incident.
"I just want to say this real quickly and then move on from this whole golf issue I had," Steele said. "It is amazing how quickly life can change, right? One moment you're out on a course, just innocently watching amazing golfers play at a golf major, the next moment you're on the ground, you're in pain with your entire life flashing before your eyes. You're scared to death, trying to comprehend what the hell just happened."
Steele then rattled off a lengthy list of thank yous, including to god, co-host Matt Barrie, her dentist, friends, family and fans, and she said she felt like "the luckiest person in the world to still be here to and be standing after that, which was three weeks ago tomorrow."
The sometimes-controversial veteran anchor was covering the tournament at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but was off-duty when she was hit by Rahm's errant shot.
The golfer could be heard yelling "fore!" shortly after he made contact. A video that surfaced on social media showed Steele clutching her face and down on a knee while being tended to.
Steele later posted hospital photos with co-host Barrie at her bedside.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram