British golfer savaged by 12-foot Crocodile

Friends attack the beast with golf clubs

Ed Greenland's picture
Tue, 12 Nov 2013
British golfer savaged by 12-foot Crocodile

A BRITISH GOLFER was mauled by a giant crocodile when playing golf at a lagoon-based course in Mexico.

Dougie Thompson, 58, was hitting a chip shot on to a green at Iberostar Cancun Golf Club when the beast rushed up behind him and clamped its jaw around his thigh.

Golfing partners Brendan O’Hara, Gordon Victory and Martin Botright then proceeded to attack the crocodile with golf clubs and attempted to run it over with a golf buggy.

The dad-of-two was lucky to keep his leg and had to have 200 staples but is currently in a stable condition.

Dougie, from Wishaw near Glasgow, said: “My ball was in the bunker around 10 to 15 feet from thick shrubbery. I didn’t even know there was water behind the bushes.

“I took a shot and it landed on the green. Then I heard this noise behind me and this huge crocodile snapped me by the thigh.”

His friend and playing partner Brendan was first on the scene to startle the crocodile but it continued to turn Dougie while ripping into his muscle.

Dougie added: “I couldn’t feel pain, I was in total shock. It was like a big toy, big black eyes looking at me. Hitting it was like hitting a brick wall. The crocodile only released its grip after Gordon and Martin rode to the rescue in a golf buggy. One of them started hitting the crocodile as well while the other actually drove the cart over it.

“It opened its mouth a bit. My friends pulled me back but it snapped again and grabbed my hip a bit higher up. Then it just stopped suddenly. When they eventually pulled me away, it started attacking the golf cart. My friends were more shocked than I was as they had to see the attack. I was in the eye of the storm.

“The crocodile tore away all the muscle in my thigh. My leg is like a butcher’s shop window. Initially only two of us were going golfing. If that had happened, there is no way one friend could have helped. It would have pulled me back into the lagoon and had me for supper.

“Even after it happened, other people were still playing golf. You’d have thought there would have been at least a policeman to take a report. When my friend went back, the crocodile was still there, just waiting.”

This is the second crocodile attack at the resort in as many months following the incident involving Edward Lunger who had two fingers bitten off when a crocodile pounced from behind a bush.