RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Lindsey Weaver-Wright found herself in an unusual situation during her second round at the Chevron Championship.
As she lined up to hit her approach into Mission Hills’ par-5 9th hole, she felt something crawling in her shoes. When she looked down, she was greeted by a terrifying sight — fire ants.
“I looked down, and I had ants all over my feet,” Weaver-Wright told GOLF.com. “They were like coming up to my ankles. So I just slipped [my shoes] off real quick so I didn’t get bit or anything.”
As you can see in the video above, the speed with which she shed her shoes was pretty impressive.
“Panic,” Weaver-Wright said. “Absolute panic.”
The ants, she explained, were in a pile in the middle of the fairway. She didn’t notice them when she approached the ball, but it didn’t take long for her to realize something was amiss.
Fortunately for Weaver-Wright, she was afforded relief under Rule 16.2.a, entitled “Dangerous Animal Condition.”
“A ‘dangerous animal condition,'” the rules say, “exists when a dangerous animal (such as poisonous snakes, stinging bees, alligators, fire ants or bears) near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player if he or she had to play the ball as it lies.”
This certainly fit the bill.
The situation didn’t seem to bother Weaver-Wright too much, though. After dusting herself off and taking relief, she ended up making birdie — her first of the day.
“I think it lightened the mood a little,” she said.
Weaver-Wright went on to fire a bogey-free 70 for the day to comfortably make the cut.
Let’s hope she doesn’t run into any more dangerous animals over the weekend.
