For most golfers, the worst kind of hazard is the kind that costs you two strokes. For a New York man, one hazard on the course cost him two fingers. And you don't get mulligans on those.
Long Island resident Edward Lunger is suing Iberostar Cancun Golf Club in Mexico for $2.25 million, according to the New York Post, claiming that on July 1 a crocodile grabbed hold of his left arm after he chipped out of a bunker, clamped on until beaten with a boulder, and made off with three of Lunger's fingers.
According to the story, once the female crocodile grabbed hold of the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Lunger's arm, “She pulled me back and flipped me, and I went to the ground." Then a pal, Mark Martin, " jumped out of his golf cart and, in an adrenaline-fueled act of courage, grabbed a 40-pound boulder and smashed it onto the monster’s head just as Lunger freed himself."
What's more, after the struggle stopped and Lunger, 50, and Martin got a makeshift tourniquet around Lunger's arm, Lunger claims he was forced to pay $17,800 upfront at a private hospital before he was given treatment. Lunger, Martin and two other friends paid that amount, they claim, by sharing the cost on their credit cards.
Lunger, who lost three fingers in the attack, got his index finger reattached but lost his middle finger and most of his ring finger.
For his part, Lunger has his priorities in order. “I don’t blame the crocodile,” Lunger told the Post. But as for the golf course?
The suit claims that, among other things, there were no warning signs for reptiles, staffers at the course told stories of other golfers being "gored" by crocs, and Iberostar use the dangerous animals “as a marketing tourist attraction and hence profit- enhancing lure.”
And for the kicker: Lunger claims that Iberostar representatives immediately pressured him to sign documents clearing the course of responsibility, saying the company spread rumors Lunger initially teased the animal with chicken.
Said Martin: “We came with nothing. We rented the clubs there. We [bought] the balls there. Where would we be getting chicken?”
H/t: Golfweek
