PGA Tour pros… they’re a different breed.
In this case, it’s Vince Whaley who is the tour pro in question. The 30-year-old from Kentucky was searching for his first PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship when he opted to do something that most people who aren’t playing for tour status and a pay cheque wouldn’t dare.
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Whaley was playing the par-5 11th hole when he hit his drive well left of the fairway. He was 235 metres from the green and gave it a go, but his ball ended up just slightly into water right of the green. Rather than describe what happened next, it’s best if you just go ahead and watch the video below:
Play it as it lies 🐊
Vince Whaley played this shot from the lake … just a few feet away from a gator @Sanderson_Champ! pic.twitter.com/iK3NaSEdiZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 5, 2025
Wild is an understatement. This was downright dangerous.
“My heart rate is elevated just watching this,” said Golf Channel commentator Johnson Wagner.
We’ve seen plenty of alligators over the years on golf courses and in various professional tour events – this beast was roaming the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island earlier this year – but rarely has anyone jumped into the water to take a swipe only mere paces from the hungry reptile.
Whaley still made par on the hole at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi and birdies at holes 13 and 15 kept him close to the lead, but a bogey on the 16th hole put him too far behind the leaders and eventual winner Steven Fisk, who birdied his last three holes to collect his first PGA Tour victory.
All was not lost, however. Whaley still tied for third place, collected $US318,000 and moved from 102nd in the FedEx fall standings to 84th place, which gives him a great chance to retain exempt status for next year.
