Snakes & turtles, oh my! Animals making presence known at PGA Championship

Yahoo

8 hours ago

Shaun Micheel watches his approach shot the on the first fairway during the 2024 PGA Championship golf tournament. Friday at the 2025 PGA Championship in Charlotte, NC, Micheel's encounter with a snake during his second round is being widely shared on social media.
Shaun Micheel thought his ball was getting eaten — at best, just chomped up like a Tic Tac — which would have made for quite a ruling. One could imagine the scene: A rules official walking up, asking what's the matter, and Micheel having to explain that a snake slithered across the fairway and gobbled up his golf ball.
Friday, at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Micheel hit a 182-yard layup to the right side of the 10th fairway and, well, something got to Micheel's ball before he did — a long black snake, twisting through the grass.
'I don't know what it was? A king snake?' Micheel said. 'My ball was in the place he wanted to be. We had a guy come over and kind of shoo him away, but the snake was in no hurry.'
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Micheel — who won the 2003 PGA Championship, earning a lifetime exemption into the tournament — was playing this week with his son, Dade, as his caddie. Dade was a few months from being born when his dad lifted the Wanamaker Trophy, but is now inside the ropes.
He was walking just behind his dad on the 10th fairway when they saw the snake. Micheel waved his glove at the reptile and stepped back. Then a tournament employee walked over.
'He kicked it and then the thing turned around,' Dade said, still a little perplexed the employee was that comfortable. 'It was a decent-sized snake.'
It came in a week when animals have been a part of the story at Quail Hollow. Especially for Micheel. Thursday, his group was halted for a little while on the 14th hole because a turtle had damaged a bunker and the grounds crew needed a minute to rake it back to perfection.
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'They're big,' Micheel said of the turtles.
On the same hole, Ryan Gerard hit a chip that rolled over the green and was halted because of a turtle. Was it the same turtle? Maybe. If so, he's a star.
'It was a Mother Nature week,' Micheel said.
What Micheel was quick to point out about his wildlife encounter was the good fortune that followed. When the snake was whisked away ('It kind of just went off into the rough,' Micheel said. 'It's probably out there somewhere.') he hit his 144-yard approach shot to inside 12 feet and sank the birdie putt.
Then he made a birdie on No. 11 — his final two red numbers in a tournament where he finished 8-over and missed the cut.
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'There was a guy following me,' Micheel said, 'and he goes, 'Man, you need that snake on every hole.' And I said, 'Well, bring him along.''
The clip of his turtle encounter was a hit on social media. Outside the clubhouse after the round, Dade pulled out his phone, went to X and watched the video with his dad.
'That's hilarious,' Dade said. 'That is so funny.'
'I've got that.' Micheel added.