Florida
They Thought It Was a Gator. Then They Saw Its Tongue
A mother-daughter car ride in Florida’s Sarasota County led to quite a sighting last month. McClatchy News reports that Renee Aland was driving in the southwest city of North Port on May 20 when she did a “double take” at something she spotted along the side of the busy road: what looked to be an alligator, between 5 feet and 6 feet long. “It was seen coming out of the woods” behind a Kia dealership, where a canal was located, she posted on Facebook later that day, posting pics and a video of the strange animal.
“I look, and I see what I think is a gator,” Aland, who was driving with 15-year-old daughter Zoey Marzonie, tells NBC2. “When we got closer, I looked, and I saw his tongue… coming out, and I was like, ‘Oh crap, that’s not a gator.’” She added to McClatchy News that “I was a little taken aback at how many times it attempted to cross the street and turned around.” Her daughter added, per NBC2: “Have you heard of the show Jessie for Disney Channel? It was like that big lizard in Jessie.” As it turns out, Aland’s assessment that the animal wasn’t an alligator was correct: Local biologists say it’s some kind of monitor lizard, perhaps a Nile monitor but more likely an Asian water monitor.
Asian water monitors can reach up to 8 feet in length when fully grown, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The invasive species isn’t native to the Sunshine State, instead typically brought there by people involved in the exotic-pet trade. Those lizards that escape or are let loose then spread via Florida’s canal system. Florida Gulf Coast University biologist Andrew Durso says people generally don’t need to fear monitor lizards. “Even though they’re carnivorous, they’re not dangerous to people,” he tells NBC2. “They’re not going to chase you; they’re not going to attack you.” Anyone who spots a similar creature wandering around should report it here, per Durso. (More lizard stories.)
Austin Smotherman will carry a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches.
Smotherman followed his opening 62 with a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That brought him to 11 under, comfortably clear of Taylor Moore, who is in second after his second straight 4-under 67.
Cognizant Classic scoreboard
“Yeah, leading a PGA Tour event, come on, pretty awesome,” Smotherman said.
Smotherman, 31, is in fine position for his first win on the PGA Tour since turning pro a decade ago. He has won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including last June.
Afterwards, he credited himself with playing “Austin Smotherman golf.” When asked what that meant, he responded, “as boring and simple as it can be.
“That’s what I want to do out there. I feel like I ball strike it good enough to have that kind of boring golf, a bunch of fairways ideally,” he said.
He suffered three bogeys Friday after a bogey-free opening round, but the key stretch for him after starting on the back nine was between Nos. 17 and 3. He birdied four holes in that stretch, starting with a 54-foot bomb at the par-3 17th hole.
“Anything under par I thought would have been (good) following up a round like yesterday, which was a special one,” he said, “and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at, like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17.”
Moore overcame a bogey in each half of his round with three birdies on either nine, more than counterbalancing the rough patches to earn his second straight solid score.
“I think very different 67s,” Moore said when comparing his rounds. “I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday, kind of grinded a lot, had a couple chip-ins, which obviously helps. I thought I struck the ball much better today. Drove it in the fairways on the par-5s, I felt like. Yeah, still had a few up-and- downs, obviously, with the tough windy conditions this afternoon, but overall I thought it was solid.”
Canadian A.J. Ewart had the round of the day, a 64 that powered him to 7 under for the week. He’s tied with Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (72), and Joel Dahmen is in fifth at 6 under after a second consecutive 68.
Ewart, who played for nearby Barry University in college, came in with some familiarity.
“We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched,” Ewart said. “I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, one of the most recognizable players in the field, is in a large knot for sixth at 5 under after posting a 67. Defending champion Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at even par.
Notable players who missed the cut included Webb Simpson (1 over), Gary Woodland (2 over), Matt Kuchar (2 over) and Canada’s Adam Hadwin (3 over).
Kim maintains narrow lead in Singapore
Auston Kim maintained a narrow lead over three seasoned competitors with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Kim carded five birdies and a double-bogey at the par-5 16th hole at Sentosa Golf Club to move to 9-under par, one shot ahead of major champions Minjee Lee of Australia (64 on Friday) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (67) and three- time LPGA Tour winner Haeran Ryu of South Korea (68).
Lurking two shots back at 7-under in the no-cut event are Australia’s Hannah Green (66), Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Sweden’s Linn Grant (69) and England’s Mimi Rhodes (69).
Kim, an LPGA Tour member since 2024, has been knocking on the door of her first tour win. The American has eight finishes in the top 10 and was the runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last season.
“I think just sticking to my process. I’m trying to earn each shot and win each shot and win each day,” Kim, 25, said of her strategy heading into the weekend. “I can put a hundred percent of my focus into every single shot and try my best to execute each time, I’ll do well.”
Lee soared into contention with an eagle at the par-4 second hole and six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I think just I holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of the difference between Friday’s play and her opening-round of 72. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score.”
Jutanugarn had six birdies, including three straight from holes Nos. 5-7, and one bogey.
Ryu collected four birdies in a round free of bogeys, but not free from pain.
“Today, my neck was so bad and I cannot turn it around, it’s so hard, my neck,” Ryu said. “But yeah, golf is not perfect. I just think about it, just hit the fairway and the green. Yeah, that’s good for me. There’s a lot of birdies, and yeah, I’m so happy.”
Angel Yin matched Lee for the low round of the day with a 64 to move into a tie for ninth at 6-under.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand (72) remained a 2-under posting four birdies and four bogeys.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand is tied for 33rd at 1-under after a round of 70.
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