Unbelievable... A Crocodile Has Appeared

Animal Encounters on the Golf Course
Horschel Drives Off Alligator at Cognizant Classic
Even Birds Mistake Golf Balls for Eggs

"Alligator Sighting." This is not a story from the jungle or a zoo. This time, it happened on a golf course.

Last week, a rare scene unfolded at the PGA National Resort Champions Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA. Billy Horschel (USA) spotted an alligator entering the course while moving from the 6th hole to the 7th hole tee box during the first round of the PGA Tour Cognizant Classic. At the time, a police officer on duty was trying to chase the alligator away, but the alligator did not budge.

Billy Horschel is chasing away an alligator that appeared on the course during the first round of the Cognizant. Photo by NBC

Without hesitation, Horschel approached the alligator and gently pressed the head of his wedge against the alligator's shoulder. The alligator then changed direction and started moving toward the left bushes. Horschel followed and watched until the alligator crossed the bushes and entered the water, successfully driving it off the course in just six seconds.

Horschel, who has recorded eight PGA Tour wins in total, is a graduate of the University of Florida golf team. Interestingly, the nickname for Florida's athletic teams is the "Gators." Golf team players are also called Gators. The American sports media outlet ESPN reported this incident as "a gator beating a gator."

In an interview, Horschel laughed and said, "When I was young, I often saw my father grab an alligator's tail and push it into the water." He added, "I have never grabbed a tail with my hands, but I have experience pushing an alligator into the water with a stick. It's not difficult." He also mentioned, "Actually, alligators are afraid of people," and "They only show aggression during mating season or when guarding their eggs."

Billy Horschel

Alligators frequently appear on golf courses in Florida and other southern regions of the United States. Most of the time, they live in ponds or lakes beside the course but occasionally come onto the fairway.

In 2021, a similar incident occurred during the second round of the PGA Tour Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana, USA. At that time, a 2 to 3-meter-long alligator entered the course, and tournament officials escorted it back to the lake.

Unexpected encounters with wildlife on golf courses are not limited to alligators.

Some birds mistake golf balls for eggs and even carry golf balls away while flying.

In May last year, at the US Women's Open held at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania, USA, a German player, Evi Gapsa, accidentally hit a bird sitting on the green, tragically killing the bird.

Such incidents commonly occur at golf courses around the world.

At Royal Colombo in Sri Lanka, large monitor lizards are easily seen. In Kuralbin, Queensland, Australia, kangaroos roam the fields, and Paradise Palms Golf Course in Cairns, Australia, is an ecological museum inhabited by alligators, monitor lizards, and storks. In Waikite, New Zealand, flocks of sheep are common, and in Royal Copenhagen, Denmark, deer frequently appear.