Life Imitates Art: Happy Gilmore's Chubbs Peterson and the One-Eyed Alligator

Golfer Survives One-Eyed Gator Attack in Florida
The Associated Press
VENICE, Fla. Jun 26, 2007 (AP) A man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when a nearly 11 foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, authorities said.
Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.
The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Burger used his left arm to beat the reptile until it freed him.
"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled" for help, said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.
Burger, from Lenoir City, Tenn., was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.
It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.

note: Chubbs Peterson was Gilmore's golf instructor. He had a wooden hand because he lost his hand to a one-eyed alligator during a golf game.