He played college golf for the Florida Gators, so maybe we should not be too surprised that Billy Horschel came to the rescue when an alligator strayed onto the PGA National course at the Cognizant Classic.
It was an eventful first round at PGA National, with Jake Knapp shooting the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history followed by Horschel's heroics.
Horschel had just finished the sixth hole at PGA National and was on his way to the seventh tee when he noticed the errant reptile crawling towards the gallery.
A police officer was on guard, but having no joy in directing the alligator back to one of the many bodies of water on the course - which is no stranger to a gator sighting.
Step forward Horschel though, who got his club selection just right as he used his 60 degree wedge to give the gator a gentle prod before walking it back into the lake.
"I'm not afraid of gators," said Florida native Horschel, who has had plenty of encounters with gators over the years.
"Listen, as I tell most people, 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."
Billy Horschel chasing an alligator off the course at the Cognizant Classic 😅 pic.twitter.com/1vIxFwvYedFebruary 28, 2025
Horschel explained that he spotted the police officer have no joy trying to guide the gator away, so had no hesitation in stepping in to help - with the help of his wedge.
"Right about to walk to seven I saw the gator coming across," said Horschel. "The cop who was working with us walked over there and tried to shoo him, but he didn't have anything to touch him and he was trying to get as close as he could.
"It was either someone was going to have to go up to No. 8 and grab a rake or I was 30 yards away, 25 yards away, and I just grabbed a club and went over there and pushed him away.
"Listen, he was going nowhere good. So I just went over there, helped the cop. As Cam said before I went over there, he goes, what was he going to do, try and use a Tazer on him? But I think he would have had to get a little close on that one to try and make it effective."
