Black Widow Bite Tees Off Golfer, But She Plays On
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iStockphoto/ThinkstockA golfer’s LPGA qualifier took a potentially deadly turn in Australia Tuesday when she was bitten by a black widow spider mid-round.
Swedish rookie Daniela Holmqvist was playing in the ISPS Handa Australian Open in Yarralumla, Australia, when the bug bit into her ankle.
“When I told the local caddies in my group what had happened, they got very upset and said it was a black widow, and immediately started looking for their phones to call the medics,” she told the Swedish website Svensk Golf.
Thinking on her feet, she used a golf tee — “the only thing I had handy,” she says — to squeeze out as much of the deadly venom as possible. Then Holmqvist decided to do the unthinkable: she played 14 more holes with medics in tow, despite the searing pain and danger of death from the spider’s bite, which can kill a child in minutes.
Alas, Holmqvist shot a 74 and failed to qualify.
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