Watch: 'Gator Wrangler' Billy Horschel deals with one of the problems of playing golf in Florida
Billy Horschel, a native Floridian who was born and went to school in the state, knows about one of the biggest challenges with Florida golf: alligators. The animals populate the water in the southern state, and golf courses are built near or on water a lot.
That issue came to a head at the Cognizant Classic. During the opening round, Horschel had to step in and take care of an alligator and got called the 'Gator Wrangler' by the PGA Tour's official account on X.
An alligator wandered up to a hole, and Horschel got to work. He brought out one of his wedges and prodded the amphibian, which sent it strolling in the opposite direction. Horschel walked behind it confidently as it wiggled its way back into the nearest body of water.
One onlooker remarked about Horschel's ironic college mascot:
"That's a Gator getting a gator."
Once the alligator was well into the water, a round of applause was given to the PGA Tour star. He jogged back down to where he was playing and didn't even seem to notice. He was totally unfazed by the fact that a dangerous creature had just been within a few feet of him.
Horschel finished his day five under par, which was good enough to tie for 14th. He's seven strokes back of Jake Knapp, who nearly tied the PGA Tour scoring record with a blistering 12-under showing.
Billy Horschel took a dig at the PGA Tour commissioner after TGL win
Billy Horschel helped Atlanta Drive Golf Club win its last TGL match, cementing themselves as a playoff team in the inaugural season. After the win, he couldn't help but get a slight dig in at Jay Monahan.
The PGA Tour commissioner is from Massachusetts, and the Boston Common Golf Club remained winless on the evening. Horschel couldn't help but say to Monahan via The Mirror:
"Sorry we beat your Boston team."
This may be a reference to the infamous Super Bowl in which an Atlanta-based team, the Falcons, blew a 28-3 lead against the Patriots, the New England-based team. This was a little bit of payback as an Atlanta team eliminated a Boston team from playoff contention.
Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel's teammate, was more diplomatic:
"We’ve got it all. I think Pat and I both kind of let Billy do his thing and stay out of his way. I bring some emotion when I need it and Pat is probably our person keeping us within reason. He’s the parent of the group, so we make a great team and we fill in the gaps in each other’s games nicely."
Horschel also told Atlanta owner Arthur Blank, who also owns those Falcons, "Welcome to the playoffs."