Billy Horschel surprised everyone by tackling, armed with his golf club, an alligator that had entered the PGA National course in Florida during the Cognizant Classic.
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The golfer helped the alligator leave the course towards a small lake: "It wasn't going anywhere good... So I went there and helped the policeman."
I grew up with my father touching the tails of alligators when they were on the shore and chasing them back into the water
Billy Horschel, who trained as a golfer in Florida, has admitted that he has had many encounters with alligators on different golf courses throughout his life.
Billy Horschel, statements
Horschel explained that "I grew up with my father touching the tails of alligators when they were on the shore and chasing them back into the water."
"I've never touched an alligator's tail with my hand, but I have with a stick. It's not a big deal," he said.
William John Horschel (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour.
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Horschel was born and raised in Grant, Florida. He attended Bayside High School in nearby Palm Bay.
He then played collegiately for the University of Florida from 2006 to 2009.
In 2006, he played in the U.S. Open but failed to make the CUT.
Billy Horschel turned professional in 2009. In December 2009, he earned a PGA Tour card in 2010 based on his collegiate performances. A wrist injury would deprive him of his rookie season and he would only be able to play in four tournaments but would not make any CUTs in any of them.
In February 2011, he finally made his first CUT at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and finished T13.
In 2013, he won his first PGA Tour event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
At the 2013 US Open, Horschel moved into the lead with Phil Mickelson halfway through the tournament. Playing in his first major tournament as a professional, he was one of only two players under par after the second round. He eventually finished four shots behind winner Justin Rose, or T4, in his first major tournament as a professional, and rose to 34th in the world rankings and 4th in the FedEx Cup standings.
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In 2014, he won two consecutive victories in two weeks: the BMW Championship followed by the Tour Championship. These victories propelled him to 14th place in the world for the season.
In 2017, he won the AT&T Byron Nelson, defeating Jason Day in a playoff.
In April 2018, Horschel won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which became a team tournament with his partner Scott Piercy.
In March 2021, Horschel won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, defeating Scott Scheffler 2 & 1 in the final. In September of the same year, he won the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour. His second victory on this tour.
In June 2022, he won the Memorial Tournament, his seventh PGA Tour title. In September 2022, he was selected for the American Presidents Cup team. He won one match but lost two in the tournament.
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In September 2024, Herschel became the first American golfer to win the BMW PGA Championship1 twice, sinking an eagle putt and beating Rory McIlroy in a playoff.
