Everyone loves an eagle on the golf course.
That’s usually referring to the “big bird” score that the best of golfers can make, and not the actual bird. But both were on the table today at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida.
The PGA Tour broke away from their regularly scheduled programming (showing people play golf) to showcase a bald eagle that was actively working on a fish in an on-course pond. You usually want to avoid the water hazards in golf, but this big ol’ bird was diving right in. In the clip, which was shared on PGA socials, the bald eagle can be seen hopping past the red hazard line and into the shallow water, where a fish that it either killed or that it found washed up (both options are possible) was floating right by the bank.
As the bald eagle splashed into the pond, the creature inadvertently showed off its legs, and one announcer couldn’t help but point that out:
“Those are strong legs ladies and gentlemen, are you kidding me?”
In his defense, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a bald eagle’s legs like that before. It was definitely a unique moment, and one that was captured in high definition thanks to the camera crews set up all across the course.
Another announcer joined into the bald eagle commentary as our country’s national bird picked up the dead fish with its sharp talons and dropped it outside of the hazard line. It would have been a perfect opportunity to make a “taking a drop” joke, but the golfing broadcaster instead said this:
“That’s very cool, isn’t it? It’s lunchtime.”
It should be in the golf broadcasting handbook somewhere that if you see a bald eagle on the golf course, you have to break out all of the dad jokes and golf puns. I’m not saying I’m disappointed in their commentary, but they definitely could have worked in some better punchlines.
Like how the PGA Tour did with their caption:
“A different kind of eagle at Bay Hill.”
Well, if the announcers didn’t do a great job cracking eagle and golf related jokes when the moment called for them, how did social media do?
Let’s take a look:
LIV could never do something this American 🇺🇸
— Josey 🚀 (@josey_orr) March 8, 2024
Dude didn’t skip leg day.
— Robbie Broad (@guzzle15) March 8, 2024
Ummmm….he grounded his talons in a hazard…that’s a two stroke penalty… know the rules!! 😁
— Michael (@sonoflarz1863) March 8, 2024
me when I hit my ball in the water and throw it back out into play without taking a penalty
— Quinn Eaton (@Q_Eaton24) March 8, 2024
The BEST type of Eagle. ❤️🤍💙
— R.J. (@RJWaddell1) March 8, 2024
