The golf course is supposed to be a place for peace and relaxation.
Spectators at a tournament got more than they bargained for.
And a video showed fans narrowly avoiding this scary situation at a Florida course after a fight.
A pro-golfer drives off an alligator with his club
Alligators are associated with Florida just like the sandy beaches and the warm weather.
There are more than one million alligators living in Florida, so there is always a chance for residents or tourists to encounter one.
Fans and golfers at the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, got the shock of their lives when an alligator emerged from a water hazard near the 7th hole during the first round of the event.
Golfer Billy Horschel was walking toward the 7th hole when he noticed a police officer struggling to shoo away an alligator.
“He was going nowhere good,” Horschel recalled. “So, I just went over there, helped the cop.”
Horschel grew up in Palm Bay, Florida, and had experience dealing with them.
“I grew up with my dad grabbing their tail when they’re on the side of the bank and shooing them back in the water,” Horschel explained. “I never touched a tail with my hand but I’ve done it with a club. Not that big of a deal.”
He grabbed a 60-degree wedge from his bag to drive the alligator back into the pond near the hole.
Takes a Gator to tame a gator here at PGA National pic.twitter.com/jc8SG9VjcR
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) February 27, 2025
Horschel reached out with the wedge and tapped the alligator on the shoulder.
That sent it scurrying away, and he followed behind it until it went back into the pond.
It takes a Gator to move an alligator
Horschel, a lifelong resident of Florida, was a star on the University of Florida Gators golf team, where he was a four-time All-American.
Journalists were shocked at his daring move to scare off the alligator, but he dismissed it as no big deal.
He told them that someone would have had to search one of the holes further up the course to find a rake to shoo it off.
Horschel was 30 yards away, so he stepped in like any good Florida man and helped scare the alligator off.
“I’m not afraid of gators,” Horschel said. “Listen, as I tell most people, I said, they’re more afraid of you. The majority of the time, they’re only going to come after you during mating season when they’re a little aggressive, and then if you’re around their nest when they’ve got some eggs. The majority of the time, listen, they’re fine.”
The PGA Tour star noticed that the police officer did not have anything to scare the alligator off with.
“As (Cameron Young) said, before I went over there, ‘What is he going to try to do? Use the taser on him?’” Horschel joked. “But I think he would have to get a little close on that one to try to make it effective.”
Horschel finished the first round five under par after four birdies and one eagle.
And one alligator.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
