I suppose the pressure of winning is hard enough, add the crowd watching you along the course and the pressure doubles. But when you throw an alligator into the equation, then you have pressure on a whole new level.

In the third round of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, Englishman Ian Poulter miscued his tee shot off to the left of tenth hole fairway. As he approached the waterside with his caddie, an alligator was spotted watching him. Poulter tried his best to concentrate on his game, practicing a back swing before the alligator visibly moved.

“Someone’s going to have to give him a nudge,” Poulter can be heard saying to officials nearby in the Sky Sports video, which had commentators laughing and joking about having an official “alligator nudger.” 

Eventually, an official moved forward with a club and the alligator submerged and disappeared. The crowd clapped and play was resumed.

“It’s a little unnerving,” Poulter confessed, “I didn’t want to put my club in the water because I didn’t want him to take it.”

The Daily Mail reported he said, “He was a little too close for comfort. They normally swim away but he wanted a closer look.” 

Despite denying this moment affected his game, Poulter dropped a double bogey on the hole and then went on to a bogey on the 11th.

He recovered well though to take fifth spot at the end of the day, just three strokes behind leader, Jason Dufner.

Alligators are not an uncommon presence in U.S tournaments

Most golfers are used to the presence of alligators when they play in the U.S. Just last month at Bay Hill, Smylie Kaufman was frightened by an alligator as he strolled up the sixth fairway with his caddie without realising the reptile wasn’t a rock sitting so high up on the bank. Both men dashed away to safety.

However, some seemed to have no fear. Cody Gribble saw the same alligator earlier in the day and merely tapped him on the tail and nudged him back into the water. 

Poulter has the final day to come up with the answers

Although Poulter is playing in recovery, following foot surgery last year, he will need to come up with some of his best golf yet to secure himself a playing spot for the rest of the season. Otherwise, it’ll be see you later, alligator.