Gator attacks golf ball diver

TAMPA, Fla., April 28 (UPI) -- Employees of a Tampa, Fla., country club said a golf ball diver was attacked by an alligator while retrieving balls from a lake near the club's 13th hole.

Matt Johnson, a golf cart attendant at the Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club, said diver Dwight Monreal, 62, had donned his scuba gear and waded into the water Saturday when the alligator popped out of the water and latched on to Monreal's arm, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Monday.

"We rushed toward the water and the gator let go of him," Johnson said. "I like to think we scared him."

Johnson told the newspaper he and a club member took Monreal to the clubhouse where he was met by police and an ambulance, which took him to St. Joseph's Hospital for treatment.

Police said Monreal suffered a dislocated left shoulder and puncture wounds to his left arm in the attack. He was released from the hospital Saturday night.

Officials at the country club said the 13th hole will be closed until the alligator is captured and killed, the Times reported.