PGA Tour pros … they’re a different breed.
In this case, it’s Vince Whaley who is the tour pro in question. The 30-year-old from Kentucky, and a Georgia Tech grad, was searching for his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship when he opted to do something that most people who aren’t playing for status and a paycheck wouldn’t dare.
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Whaley was playing the par-5 11th hole when he hit his drive well left of the fairway. He was 260 yards from the green and gave it a go, but his ball ended up just slightly into water right of the green. Rather than describe what happened next, it’s best if you just go ahead and watch the video below.
Wild is an understatement. This was downright dangerous.
“My heart rate is elevated just watching this,” said Golf Channel commentator Johnson Wagner.
We’ve seen plenty of alligators over the years on golf courses and in various professional tour events—this beast was roaming the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island earlier this year—but rarely has anyone jumped into the water to take a swipe only mere feet from the hungry reptile.
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Whaley still made par on the hole at the Country Club of Jackson (Miss.) and birdies at Nos. 13 and 15 kept him close, but a bogey on the 16th hole put him too far behind the leaders and eventual winner Steven Fisk, who birdied his last three holes to collect his first PGA Tour victory.
All was not lost, however. Whaley still tied for third place, collected $318,000 and moved from 102nd in FedEx fall standings and into 84th place, which gives him a great chance to retain exempt status for next year.
Read the full article here
