Marlo the cavapoo has helped owner Charles Jefferson gather over golf 6,000 balls from two courses around London. But he’s not the only animal in the world that enjoy’s a front-row seat to golf action.
Robin Spring
Zebras graze on the Baobab Course at Vipingo Ridge in Kenya during the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in 2022.
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An alligator crosses the sixth green during a practice round prior to the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Resort’s Ocean Course in South Carolina.
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Monkeys are seen on the seventh fairway during the second round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on El Camaleon golf course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in 2021.
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A giraffe crosses the first hole at dusk at the Leopard Creek Country Club Golf in Malelane, South Africa in 2004.
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A moose walks across the 16th tee during “The Match” at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana in 2021.
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A coatimundi is seen as Joseph Bramlet putts on the first green during the first round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on the El Camaleon course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in 2021.
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Geese waddle along the sixth hole at the Celtic Manor Resort as Jack Senior prepares to play his third shot during day one of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale in Newport, Wales in 2021.
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A kangaroo is seen during day one of the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic held at The Vines Resort and Country Club in Perth, Australia.
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Matthieu Pavon holes his putt as a stork watches on from behind the 17th green during the third round of the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Quarteira, Portugal in 2021.
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Baboons cross a fairway during day two of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player CC in Sun City, South Africa in 2016.
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A cockerel is seen on the 15th tee during the second day of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final at T-Golf & Country Club in Mallorca, Spain in 2021.
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When animals take over the golf course
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CNN
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Golf fans are accustomed to hearing a curling putt described as ‘snaking.’ What they are less familiar with, though, is the sight of a snake dangling off the end of a club.
During the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow on Saturday, Rickie Fowler was on hand to provide a safe demonstration.
Fowler was on the par-five seventh hole of his third round at the PGA Tour event in Charlotte, when his tee shot went careening right towards the waters along the side of the fairway.
While searching for his ball, the American spotted a snake settled amongst some rocks. North Carolina is home to a range of snake species, many of which inhabit the waters of the Tar Heel state. Comments on the PGA’s Twitter post wavered on what species of snake Fowler handled, but it is thought to be a northern watersnake, a nonvenomous species native to North America.
Angling his wedge, Fowler gently hooked the snake to lift it out from between a gap in the rocks before it slithered away. The fact that the 34-year-old is a long-time partner with Puma-Cobra made it a fitting collaboration.
Rickie Fowler the … snake charmer?!
No fear with a wedge from @RickieFowler 🐍 pic.twitter.com/nJLwQhsE5J
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 6, 2023
He eventually took a penalty drop but managed to save par, carding a three-under 68 before repeating the score on Sunday to finish tied for 14th at eight-under overall, 11 shots behind champion Wyndham Clark.
It lifts him three places to world No. 50 ahead of the PGA Championship later at Oak Hill this month, where he will again chase a first career major after three runner-up finishes.
Fowler in action during the third round.
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Fowler will be hoping to avoid the fate that befell Richard Brand at last year’s event. The English golfer’s second round was derailed when a squirrel raced onto the green to stop his ball and roll it around before scampering away.
To rub salt into the wounds, Bland was not allowed to move his ball or replay his shot under US Golf Association rulings.
Robin Spring
Snakes and squirrels have continued golf’s ever growing story of animal run-ins, with dogs, deer, and alligators all penning chapters in recent years.