Feb. 27 (UPI) — Billy Horschel fired a 5-under 66 at the Cognizant Classic on Thursday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., but his most impressive club work was his use of a wedge to wrangle a gator as he finished out the first round.
“He was going nowhere good,” Horschel told reporters at PGA National Resort.
The Grant, Fla., native carded a par on No. 6, his 15th hole of the day. He then spotted a police officer unsuccessfully attempting to escort the gator away as he made his trek to No. 7.
Horschel calmly walked toward the gator, which appeared to be close to 6 feet long, and stretched out his arm, touching the roaming reptile with his club face.
The gator made a quick head snap toward the golfer before turning the other way. Horschel then followed the gator until it dropped into a nearby pond.
“I saw the gator coming across,” Horschel said. “The cop who was walking with us walked over there and tried to shoo him but he didn’t have anything to touch him … I was 30 yards away and grabbed a club and pushed him away.”
Billy Horschel really walked this gator back to the water pic.twitter.com/1pnV9eyEDV— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 27, 2025
Horschel made four birdies and an eagle, with just one bogey over his first 18 holes. He is tied for 14th. Jake Knapp fired a 12-under 59, one stroke off the PGA Tour record, to earn the first-round lead.
Daniel Berger, Russell Henley and Sami Valimaki, who carded matching 8-under 63s, are tied for second. Henley, the No. 17 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player in the field.
The second round of the Cognizant Classic will tee off at 6:45 a.m. EST Friday in Palm Beach Gardens. TV coverage will start at 2 p.m. on Golf Channel.
