A Pair of Hippopotamuses Put a Trio of Pro Golfers (With Caddies) to Flight

A pair of hippopotamuses sent three golfers and their caddies running for their lives during a $65,000 international tournament today.

Paul Burley, a 25-year-old player from Grimsby, England, disturbed the beasts after hitting his 17th tee shot into the rough. He was lining up his second shot when there was a crashing noise in the thick bush behind him.

“Suddenly two hippos, one behind the other, came crashing out of the bush towards us,” Burley said. “My caddy threw down my bag and was off across the fairway like a shot, and I was close behind.”

“The others (South Africans Jannie Ackerman and Andre van Straaten) were ahead of us as we screamed across the fairway and into the rough on the other side looking for a tree to get up.

“There weren’t any big trees, but fortunately, the hippos suddenly veered off and went back the way they came.”

Burley “hurried up a bit” when he went back to take his shot and topped it badly, but still managed to make par.

PGA director Jimmy Hemphill said several families of hippos lived in the pool but rarely came out in the daytime.