Jackson, Michigan – Vince Whaley stepped into the water to play the shot, with a 6-foot crocodile looking closely. He still turned his back on the Gator to save Pa.
Whaley believes the crocodile was about 20 feet away underwater when he played a shot from the bank on par 5 11th hole Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Play it like it’s a lie
Vince Whalley played this shot from the lake… a few feet away from the gator @sanderson_champ! pic.twitter.com/ik3nasediz
– PGA Tour (@pgatour) October 5th, 2025
He was one shot from the lead at the time, and he knew the Gator with his head completely on the water and his eyes were on him.
“Now, thankfully, my back was for him so I was able to focus on the shot for a moment,” Whaley added that he has “a lot of trust” in his caddy, who is monitoring the situation.
The gator never moved. Whaley went up and down for the PAR because of the putting surface. He finished with a 67 and tied up third.
And what about the plan if the gator moves?
“The plan was to take hell out of the water,” he said.