A strange scene turned scary Friday at the Maybank Malaysian Open, as Pablo Larrazabal jumped into a lake to escape an attack from a swarm of hornets.
The Spaniard was in the fifth fairway at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club when he reportedly swatted a hornet off his nose, which caused several others to begin to attack him. In total, Larrazabal was stung more than 20 times around his head and neck before finally jumping in the water as a last resort.
“They were three times the size of bees,” he said. “My caddie told me to run, so I start running like a crazy guy, but the hornets were still there, so the other players told me to jump in the lake.
“I ran to the lake, threw my scorecard down, took off my shoes and jumped in the water. It was the scariest moment of my career, for sure. I’ve never been so scared.”
Larrazabal received medical treatment, including injections, for multiple stings. When he put his shirt back on, the hornets returned, so he played his last five holes in a borrowed shirt.
He birdied the 14th hole during a round of 68 and had a share of 25th place at 2 under par.
“It looks like I’ll be playing the weekend, so tomorrow it will be very, very scary to play that hole,” Larrazabal said.
Agencies/Canadajournal