Alligators on Florida golf courses are not unusual, but reptiles helping players avoid a penalty stroke is rare.
According to a couple playing in a tournament Saturday at Bonita National Golf Club, a gator “jumped up and caught” an errant tee shot, the Naples Daily News reported.
Joanne Sadowsky sliced her tee shot on the second hole during the couples tournament, and the ball headed toward one of the 17 lakes on the course, the newspaper reported.
“I shanked the ball to the right, and it was heading to the water,” Sadowsky told the Daily News. “It was close to the gator’s head. He saw it, jumped up and caught it.”
Sadowsky’s light pink golf ball was “caught” by the alligator, meaning she was entitled to a free drop.
“It saved me from a hazard penalty,” Sadowsky, told the Daily News.“We’ve seen them with a fish or a turtle in their mouths, but never a golf ball.”
The lucky break did not help Sadowsky and her husband, Len, as they finished out of the money in the tournament, the newspaper reported.
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