Alison Lee has revealed that Nelly Korda was bitten by "a dog she didn't know" outside of "a random coffee shop" in Seattle following the KPMG Women's PGA Championship last month.
The injury caused Korda to withdraw from this week's Aramco Team Series event in London while she receives treatment and recovers fully, aiming to return to the course "soon."
In a statement posted on Instagram, Korda said: “I regret to announce I must withdraw from next week’s Ladies European Tour tournament in London. On Saturday in Seattle, I was bitten by a dog and need time to receive treatment and recover fully.
“I apologise to the LET, the sponsors and my fans for my absence. Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to returning to the course soon.”
Lee - who is competing at Centurion Club in the 36-squad 108 individual player tournament - has previous experience of a very similar situation, having been bitten by her boyfriend's rescue dog called 'Bear' back in January.
The incident caused a couple of open wounds in her left hand and ultimately put 29-year-old Lee in hospital for two nights after her entire arm turned red and she was diagnosed with lymphangitis.
Discussing her experience as well as sharing a little more information on Korda's plight, Lee said: “She asked me a lot about what my symptoms were when I got my dog bite.
"My dog bite got seriously infected, so I was actually hospitalised for three days. But yeah, it's an unfortunate circumstance and definitely scary. She got bitten by a dog that she didn't know, it was just at a random coffee shop. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for her.”
Having since returned to full health and gone on to pick up over $325,000 in earnings this season, Lee is hoping to secure a healthy portion of the $1 million total prize purse this week via her first win of the season.
Lee claimed the individual trophy at the Aramco Team Series Riyadh last October - achieved through the lowest ever 36-hole score since the PIF-backed series arrived on the scene.
But in order to repeat her success in the third round of this year's ATS, Lee will have to do it in the notoriously changeable British weather, with rain showers forecast as well as sun and a stiff breeze.
Aware she will have to adapt quickly to have a chance of winning, Lee said: “The weather has been really nice so far, so I think that helps. The fairways seem pretty firm, so it goes a long way.
“I played the front nine when it wasn't too windy, but I'm sure it could get pretty windy here as the week goes on, so I feel like it's going to play really different.
"Once the tournament starts tomorrow and probably later in the week, it says it might rain a little bit. I am just going to try and do my best to adapt to what the UK brings to golf.”
