The Loop
Watch Cody Gribble give a love tap to a gator at Bay Hill like it's no big deal
March Madness officially began on Thursday in gyms across the country, but the day's craziest moment came on the golf course. During the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a gator got a little close to the action -- and one tour pro did something totally unexpected.
You may know Cody Gribble as the guy who won the Sanderson Farms Championship in October. From henceforth, though, he will be known as "The Gator Whisperer." Gribble didn't just get near the gator, he walked up to it and gave it a love tap. Like it was no big deal!
Check out this lunatic in action:
"I've done it a couple times before," Gribble said. "If you think if that's crazy, you should meet my father, Bill Gribble. Next time you see him, have an interview with him. He loves all types of animals, but, yeah.
"I wasn't too worried about it at the time. Those guys, I mean, it's like a jolt, it's quick, they're not going to catch you, they're not going to catch you a couple of steps down. I mean, they're going to get you really quick early, but I'm not in its way. I'm right behind him. It's not going to happen."
We want to reiterate that "Don't try this at home" part.
Although, this goes along with the advice fellow tour pro John Peterson -- no stranger to interactions with gators -- gave us on dealing with gators on the golf course a few years back.
"You can't mess with it when it's looking at you," Peterson said. "You've got to get it from the back."
Yeah. . . we think we're still going to pass on that. . .