At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans host course, TPC Lousiana, there's an alligator that gets more attention than the others, and her name is Tripod.
Tripod, as the name would suggest, is a three-legged gator which was first spotted during the tournament not long after TPC Louisiana was built in 2004. Tripod has had run-ins with rules officials, players like Billy Horschel, and has been spotted generally enjoying the sun and water on the Pete Dye design.
Tripod is 11 feet long, and it's not clear how she lost the right front leg. The guess is she lost it in some kind of struggle with a fellow gator or other animal. Her sex is also a guess, as no one is really sure if Tripod is male or female.
"We're pretty sure she had 14 babies about six or seven years ago," said Chris Kenyon, the vice president of marketing and sales for the Fore!Kids Foundation, which runs the Zurich Classic, to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
At 11 feet long, Tripod, if she is a female, would be 3 feet longer than the average female alligator -- but about average size for a male gator.
Either way, Tripod -- one of 20 or so gators at TPC Louisiana -- is docile and pretty shy. Tripod likes to hang around the 17th and 18th holes.
There's actually an alcoholic drink named after Tripod at TPC Louisiana, and the fans can't get enough of the rare glimpses of the gator, including etched into a cypress tree near the clubhouse.
The gators get a lot of attention at TPC Louisiana, but more often than not, they're a lot like the crowds who flock to watch the golf: enjoying the sun and having a great day.
