During the first round of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, a gator wandered onto the golf course, which isn't entirely unusual during the PGA Tour's Florida swing.
Unfortunately for the large reptile, there was another Gator already occupying that hole: Billy Horschel. The former University of Florida Gator fearlessly chased the gator off of the fairway and safely out of the way.
Takes a Gator to tame a gator here at PGA National pic.twitter.com/jc8SG9VjcR
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) February 27, 2025
“Yeah, 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 where they’re a little aggressive and then if you're around their nest when they’ve got some eggs.
“The majority of the time, they’re fine. 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. I never touched a tail with my hand but I’ve done it with a club. Not that big of a deal.”
After wrangling the gator, Horschel continued his round, which turned out to be a pretty good one: he shot 5-under 66, good for T10 on the leaderboard with the afternoon wave still to come.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Florida Gator Billy Horschel Faces Off Against Actual Gator at PGA National.
