Stories of a 'friendly' round of golf turning not so friendly thanks to a disagreement over penalty strokes, golfing out of turn, and who knows what else are nothing new. But what reportedly happened in Utah last month has to make even the most experienced duffer shake their head.
According to the Deseret News, an elderly golfer was attacked and left unable to speak over an apparent disagreement over a single golf ball.
Wayne Magalogo, 65, was golfing at Mountain View Golf Course in West Jordan, Utah with his father on July 2 when, according to the report, a golf ball landed on the third green while the two men were putting. Magalogo, suspecting it was simply an errant ball, picked it up. From there, it gets ugly.
"He picked it up, and the golfer who had hit the ball got angry, punched him and then left, according to family members. Magalogo and his father continued playing," the story read.
"Magalogo didn't think anything of the attack until he started getting major headaches. He went to see a doctor and had surgery to stop bleeding in his brain, his family said. He spent more than a week in the hospital recovering. He still has headaches and has to take medication for the pain, family members said."
It actually took the family "a few weeks" to realize the connection between the attack and Magalogo's injuries. Once they realized the cause of the injuries, the family went to the West Jordan police.
Police said they have a vague description of the assailant -- a man in his late 20s or early 30s was the only descriptive information in the story -- and believe there were more than 200 people on the course that day. But because many golfers were not required to provide a name to get a tee time, police are hoping tips can get them closer to a suspect.
"It's just sad," Wayne's son Owen Magalogo said. "I really don't know just why someone would stoop to that level, just to punch him over a sport. I don't understand why it had to come to that."