“When I put my hand to the back of my head there was a lot of blood,” Katie Hauss tells PEOPLE
Katie Hauss was enjoying a day of watching her favorite celebrities — including Travis Kelce — golf at the American Century Championship with her husband Ryan Griffiths on Friday, July 12,
Then, without warning, she felt something strike the back of her head.
“When I got hit, I immediately felt pain,” Hauss, 37, recounted to PEOPLE exclusively. “I was just trying to focus on not blacking out, and at that point I didn’t really know what had happened. I then heard people start yelling and screaming that it was Travis Kelce’s golf shot, and ‘Oh my god, that girl just got hit in the head.’ ”
“I tried to stay really calm and told my husband that I thought I was ok, it just hurt really bad,” she continued. “Then when I put my hand to my head there was a lot of blood. I knelt down to try and get my bearings and then a Good Samaritan — he must have been a doctor or a first responder of some sort — came over and immediately applied pressure to the wound on my head. He told me stay still and that they were calling for the EMTs. I am just so appreciative to that man for helping me, a complete stranger, and I wish I could thank him for his kindness.”
Hauss had indeed been struck in the back of the head by a golf ball driven by the Kansas City Chiefs tight-end, 34. Travis and his brother Jason were among the golfers that Hauss and Griffiths had traveled to Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course to see.
“I go up every year for the tournament. Celebrity golf is something we always look forward to attending and is one of our favorite weeks of the year,” Hauss said of the annual event.
After realizing what happened, both Kelces made their way down the green.
“Travis must have walked down as I was still on the ground,” Hauss recalled. “I just remember seeing him come up and then I don’t remember exactly what he said, but he asked if I was ok. I could tell that he felt really badly. He joked that the least he could do was take a photo with me, so I stood up and joked back that at least the front of me looked ok and wasn’t bleeding if we were going to take a photo. Travis said that he couldn’t bring himself to smile given the circumstances. I honestly felt bad for him, because I know that it was a total accident, and that can’t feel good to do that with a huge crowd looking on.”
Hauss recalls Jason being “genuinely concerned” and asking her multiple times if she was okay.
EMTs quickly arrived and discovered her head was split upon. They suggested Hauss go to the hospital to make sure that she didn’t have a fracture or internal bleeding. When she got to the ER, they confirmed she had a concussion and needed a few stitches in my head.
Hauss also remembers holding onto the cup in her hand, which only contained water, and getting it continually refilled to wash the blood off her arms and legs.
More than a week after her injury, Hauss, a horseback rider, is slowly recovering.
“This week was a bit touch and go, but as of today I’m feeling much better and on the mend!” Hauss told PEOPLE one week after the incident. “I ride horses professionally for work so putting a helmet on earlier this week was a bit difficult but I managed. The doctor had wanted to originally give me staples but I negotiated for some dissolving stitches and glue given the nature of my work.”
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She also commented on the New Heights podcast the brothers made before the tournament, where Travis joked: “Don’t feel bad if you hit somebody because they bought the ticket.”
@newheightshowTravis had some advice for Jason before they go golfing in Tahoe this week
“I’m sure they never imagined that someone would actually get hurt when they said those things,” Hauss reflected. “I still can’t believe it happened to be honest!”
