“They’re Actually More Scared of You”: PGA Tour Star’s Wild Encounter as He Shoos Alligator Off the Fairway

In Florida, golfers are quite accustomed to seeing alligators roaming the fairways.

However, PGA Tour star Billy Horschel took the initiative when he encountered one during the Cognizant Classic on Friday morning.

As Horschel strolled along a fairway at Palm Beach Gardens, he noticed the reptile lounging right in the middle of the course.

A nearby police officer was attempting to coax the gator away, but was met with little success.

To the astonishment of onlookers, Horschel approached the alligator and extended his golf club to encourage it to move along.

The alligator briefly snapped before darting across the fairway and disappearing into the water.

The crowd erupted with shouts of “Yeah, Billy!” and “Oh, crap!” in a video shared on social media.

“I’m never scared of gators,” Horschel remarked afterwards.

“As I often tell people, they’re generally more frightened of you. Most of the time, they’ll only approach during mating season when they can be a bit aggressive or if you’re near their nest with eggs. More often than not, they’re harmless.”

This isn’t the first instance of professional golfers seen encouraging alligators off the course.

After his round, Horschel expressed concern regarding the scoring ease at the Cognizant Classic, pointing fingers at course management.

Young PGA Tour competitor and world No. 99 Jake Knapp clocked an impressive 12-under 59, marking only the 15th occasion in PGA Tour history where a player has broken the sub-60 barrier for a round.

“You’ve got to give him credit for shooting 12-under par 59,” Horschel acknowledged.

“The rough isn’t long enough, and it’s not punishing enough if you stray from the fairway.

“It’s unfortunate… I find it a bit disappointing; the course conditions are quite scoreable. However, one still needs to hit good shots and sink putts.”

“This tournament will likely record the lowest scoring average ever by, I would wager, a shot and a half. It’s a bit of a letdown.”

Knapp finished just one shot shy of the tour scoring record of 58, achieved by Jim Furyk in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship.

Knapp has become the 14th player to shoot a sub-60 round; this feat has been achieved 15 times, with Furyk being the only player to accomplish it twice.