“Play it where it lies.”
It’s one of the few rules of golf that everybody knows thanks to Shooter McGavin and Frankenstein’s fat foot in the legendary Adam Sandler movie, Happy Gilmore.
For pro golfer Cam Champ, that meant he had to line up and hit his shot within just a few feet of an alligator this past weekend while in Louisiana for a PGA tour event. Champ hit his ball in the water and was forced to take a drop near the point of entry.
In most instances, the gator would typically slide off into the water when in close proximity to a person, but this stubborn little reptile stood his ground.
According to Golf Week, Champ and his playing partner Tony Finau joked about the incident following the round.
“It wasn’t that bad. He was maybe 20 feet, but still, he was a little guy,” Champ said. “I was kind of making sure he wasn’t going to …”
“The alligator wanted a piece of him after he hit it in the water,” Finau added.
“Yeah, probably so,” Champ replied.
Golf course staff was also seen sweeping gators off the fairways with golf carts and brooms during the event.
Something tells me that Champ wouldn’t have been so calm had that been the gator that got ole Chubbs Peterson’s hand or this absolute unit that was seen strolling across a golf course in Florida.
That thick boy is a local celebrity, affectionately nicknamed Chubbs in honor of Mr. Gilmore’s friend and mentor who was forced to retire from his professional golf career in the midst of his prime after a gator bit off one of his hands while reaching for an errant golf ball.
