{"id":2498012,"date":"2025-10-12T07:46:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T11:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barefooted-pga-golfer-saves-par-with-shot-from-murky-pond-as-an-inquisitive-alligator-watches-from-feet-away\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T11:47:00","slug":"barefooted-pga-golfer-saves-par-with-shot-from-murky-pond-as-an-inquisitive-alligator-watches-from-feet-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barefooted-pga-golfer-saves-par-with-shot-from-murky-pond-as-an-inquisitive-alligator-watches-from-feet-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Barefooted PGA Golfer Saves Par with Shot from Murky Pond as an Inquisitive Alligator Watches from Feet Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbarefooted-pga-golfer-saves-par-with-shot-from-murky-pond-as-an-inquisitive-alligator-watches-from-feet-away%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2498012&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article highlights a surprising adn risky moment during the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament in Jackson, Mississippi. American golfer Vince Whaley, aiming for his first PGA tour victory, had his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/family-living-on-golf-course-awarded-nearly-5-million-after-home-bombarded-by-errant-golf-balls\/\" title=\"Family Living On ... Course Awarded Nearly  Million After Home Bombarded By Errant ...s\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiger-woods-makes-first-comments-since-accident\/\" title=\"Tiger Woods Makes First Comments Since Accident\">golf ball<\/a> land<\/a> in shallow water near an alligator on the par-5 11th hole. Rather than taking a penalty stroke, Whaley removed his shoes and waded into the water to play the shot, despite the proximity of the alligator. Remarkably, he managed to save par on that hole. Although Whaley&#8217;s daring effort went viral, he did not win the tournament; fellow American Steven Fisk secured the victory.Fisk expressed confidence in his achievement, underscoring the competitive nature of professional golf, where such boldness and determination are sometimes on display.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to sports, there is a generally accepted hierarchy of which ones are the most dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>At the top of the danger list are sports like football, hockey, boxing, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >mixed martial arts<\/a>. As you move down the list, you&rsquo;ll start getting basketball, and baseball, and tennis&hellip; all the way down to swimming, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-publishes-anti-u-s-propaganda-for-veterans-day\/\" title=\"China Publishes Anti-U.S. Propaganda for Veterans Day\">generally viewed<\/a> as one of the least dangerous sports out there.<\/p>\n<p>Nestled towards the bottom of that list is also golf.<\/p>\n<p>But if this viral video is any indication, maybe that sport should scoot on up that list.<\/p>\n<p>Last weekend, the Sanderson Farms Championship took place in Jackson, Mississippi.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> console.log(\"A\/B Test Video Player\"); \/\/ Helper function to set a cookie function setVideoCookie(name, value, days) {     var expires=\"\";     if (days) {         var date=new Date();         date.setTime(date.getTime() + (days*24*60*60*1000));         expires=\"; expires=\" + date.toUTCString();     }     document.cookie=name + \"=\" + (value || \"\")  + expires + \"; path=\/\"; }  \/\/ Helper function to get a cookie function getVideoCookie(name) {     var nameEQ=name + \"=\";     var ca=document.cookie.split(';');     for(var i=0; i <ca.length; i++) {         var c=ca[i];         while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c=c.substring(1,c.length);         if (c.indexOf(nameEQ)==0) return c.substring(nameEQ.length,c.length);     }     return null; }  \/\/ Function to determine or retrieve the split test group function assignSplitTestGroup() {     var group=getVideoCookie('splitTestGroup');     if (group===null) {         var rand=Math.random();         if (rand <1\/3) {             group='A';         } else if (rand <2\/3) {             group='B';         } else {             group='C';         }         setVideoCookie('splitTestGroup', group, 1); \/\/ Sets a cookie for 1 day     }     return group; }  \/\/ aditude function aditudePlayer() {     playerBottom=5;     if (window.innerWidth <=768) {         playerBottom=100;     }     console.log(\"Loading Aditude video player\"); 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             \/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot             container.appendChild(script);         }         function findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) {             const targetElement=document.querySelector(selector);             if (!targetElement) {                 console.warn(\"Target element not found.\");                 return null;             }              \/\/ Get all \n\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document             let paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));              \/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element             let targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);              if (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) {                 console.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\");                 return null;             }              return paragraphs[targetIndex - x];         }          \/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver         function observeElement(element) {             if (!element) return;              const observer=new IntersectionObserver(                 (entries)=> {                     entries.forEach(entry=> {                         if (entry.isIntersecting) {                             console.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim());                             loadAnyclip();                             observer.disconnect();                         }                     });                 },                 { threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed             );              observer.observe(element);         }          \/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #videoPlayer and observe it         let paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#videoPlayer\", 2);         observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ stn function stnPlayer() {     \/\/ may want to pass in         document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {         function loadScript(src) {             const script=document.createElement(\"script\");             script.src=src;             script.async=true;             document.body.appendChild(script);         }         function findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) {             const targetElement=document.querySelector(selector);             if (!targetElement) {                 console.warn(\"Target element not found.\");                 return null;             }              \/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document             let paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));              \/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element             let targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);              if (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) {                 console.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\");                 return null;             }              return paragraphs[targetIndex - x];         }          \/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver         function observeElement(element) {             if (!element) return;              const observer=new IntersectionObserver(                 (entries)=> {                     entries.forEach(entry=> {                         if (entry.isIntersecting) {                             console.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim());                             loadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\");                             observer.disconnect();                         }                     });                 },                 { threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed             );              observer.observe(element);         }          \/\/ Add custom styles for STN player         const style=document.createElement('style');         style.textContent=`         #videoPlayer {             min-height: 460px;             margin-bottom: 10px;         }         @media only screen and (max-width: 780px) {             #videoPlayer {                 min-height: 200px;             }         }         `;         document.head.appendChild(style);          \/\/ Add needed div for STN player         const stnDiv=document.createElement(\"div\");         \/\/ add data-stn-player attribute         stnDiv.setAttribute(\"data-stn-player\", \"s28Az7AY\");         document.getElementById(\"videoPlayer\").appendChild(stnDiv);           \/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #videoPlayer and observe it         let paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#videoPlayer\", 2);         observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ Assign user to a group window.adUserGroup=assignSplitTestGroup();  \/\/ Example usage if (window.adUserGroup==='A') {     console.log('Running Aditude player for group A');     aditudePlayer(); } else if (window.adUserGroup==='B') {     console.log('Running Anyclip player for group B');     anyclipPlayer(); } else {     console.log('Running STN player for group C');     stnPlayer(); } <\/script> <\/p>\n<p>American golfer Vince Whaley, 30, was seeking his first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-pga-tour-reunites-trump-10-year-separation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PGA<\/a> Tour victory, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/watch-this-tour-pro-hit-a-shot-while-standing-dangerously-close-to-a-lurking-alligator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Golf Digest<\/a>, when a tee shot went awry on the par-5 11th hole, as it fell slightly into shallow waters.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s when Whaley &mdash; clearly a man dedicated to his vocation &mdash; took off his golf shoes and waded into the water to hit the golf ball, instead of taking a stroke penalty.<\/p>\n<p>While many golfers in the past have pulled a similar stunt in the water, seldom have those trysts into the water involved another living, breathing creature.<\/p>\n<p>Whaley&rsquo;s instance most certainly did, and it&rsquo;s honestly better for you to just watch it for yourself:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Play it as it lies &#128010;<\/p>\n<p>Vince Whaley played this shot from the lake &hellip; just a few feet away from a gator <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sanderson_Champ?\">@Sanderson_Champ<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iK3NaSEdiZ\">pic.twitter.com\/iK3NaSEdiZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PGATOUR\/status\/1974937259829797184?\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Apart from the inquisitive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/gator-tries-make-meal-florida-womans-puppy-wasnt-punched-eye\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gator<\/a>, the next most impressive part of this viral video? Whaley was able to save par (for those who don&rsquo;t know golf, that means he put the golf ball in the hole within five strokes, since this was a par-5) despite the aquatic detour.<\/p>\n<p>Alas, this particular par and subsequent birdies (when you get the golf ball into the hole in one fewer stroke than a par) on holes 13 and 15 were largely undone with a bogey (when you take more than the allotted strokes) on the 16th hole.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Whaley&rsquo;s viral moment, it was fellow American Steven Fisk who ultimately took home the top place in the tournament.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Steven dreamt of this moment when he was little &#129402; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/t9Nsk15peI\">pic.twitter.com\/t9Nsk15peI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PGATOUR\/status\/1975191353353969790?\">October 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We all think we&rsquo;re good enough to compete out here and to win,&rdquo; Fisk said of his victory. &ldquo;And finally I truly know that I&rsquo;m good enough to be a PGA Tour winner.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As Fisk alluded to, it goes without saying that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/christian-pga-tour-golfer-loses-1-shot-calling-penalty-no-one-else-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PGA<\/a> Tour golfers all need a bit of outsized confidence to succeed in such a competitive sport.<\/p>\n<p>But it&rsquo;s certainly not every day you meet a golfer willing to literally risk life and limb to maintain a par.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a widely recognized ranking of sports based on their level of danger. At the highest risk are sports such as football, hockey, boxing, and mixed martial arts. Further down the list are basketball, baseball, and tennis, with swimming generally considered one of the safest activities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2498013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-10-07T230220.556.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[12198,65063,65064,17511,65065],"class_list":["post-2498012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alligator","tag-barefoot-golfer","tag-golf-shot","tag-pga","tag-sports-wildlife"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-10-07T230220.556.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498012"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498017,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498012\/revisions\/2498017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2498013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}