Norman recovering from chainsaw accident

Golf great Greg Norman was recovering at home on Sunday after almost cutting off his hand with a chainsaw.

Australia's former world No 1 had a photo posted on Instagram of himself lying in a Florida hospital bed with his left arm heavily bandaged.

Norman, 59, issued a warning alongside the photo and suggested he had come close to severing one of his hands.

"Working with a chainsaw ALWAYS be respectful of the unexpected. I was one lucky man today. Damaged, but not down & out. Still have left hand," Norman tweeted.

The accident took place while Norman was trimming trees on Saturday near his home.

On Sunday morning, Norman posted another photo from his yard while making a thumbs-up sign with his right hand. His left was covered in a protective cast.

"Thank u all for your concern and good wishes," Norman tweeted. "All well the morning after the accident. Here I am at the scene of the crime."

Norman last week posted a photo of himself working with a chainsaw to cut back a small tree at what appears to be one of his seaside properties.

The Australian had one of the most high-profile careers in golf, winning two British Opens and topping the world rankings for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s.

He inspired many current day Australian professionals, including world No 2 Adam Scott.

Scott paid tribute to the two-time major winner after becoming the first Australian to capture the Masters at Augusta last year.

"Part of this is for him (Norman) because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief," Scott said at the time.

Norman's mishap invoked memories of a near-fatal accident to fellow Australian and former British Open and Augusta Masters runner-up Jack Newton.

In 1983, at the height of his professional career, Newton nearly died when he walked into the spinning propeller of a light plane he was about to board at Sydney Airport.

He lost his right arm and eye and sustained severe abdominal injuries.

Newton spent several days in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care before a prolonged rehabilitation from his injuries to return to public life as a television and radio golf commentator.

(China Daily 09/16/2014 page23)