THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008
SPORTS
>> PGA
7B
Golfer charged with killing hawk
BY TRAVIS REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. — PGA Tour player Tripp Isenhour was charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show.
Isenhour was with a film crew for "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. The 39-year-old player, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.
Isenhour apologized in a statement and said he was only trying to scare the hawk away.
According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up. Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.
Isenhour allegedly said "I'll get him now" and aimed for the hawk.
"About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close," Baine wrote.
a few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.
"As soon as this happened, I was mortified and extremely upset and continue to be upset," Isenhour said in a statement issued through his management company, SFX Golf. "I want to let everyone know there was neither any malice nor deliberate intent whatsoever to hit or harm the hawk. I was trying to simply scare it into flying away"
Isenhour said his family has adopted three cats from a local shelter.
"I am an animal lover," he said. "We ask that everyone accept my sincerest apology, and please be respectful of my family's privacy."
Isenhour has spent two full years on the PGA Tour, both times failing to keep his card. He has won four times on the Nationwide Tour, including twice in 2006.
"He just kept saying how he didn't think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say," said lethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot. "He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that's, I don't know, a couple hundred feet away?"
Senger said it was "basically like a joke to (Isenhour)." He said no one in the roughly 15-person crew intervened, and many later regretted it.
"It was one of those cases where there's some trepidation on whether or not they should speak up and do something," Senger said.
Senger said the killing was not captured on video. The bird was buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators.
Tripi lenshou was charged in Orlando with killing a protected migratory hawk with a golf shot during the third round of the Nationwide Tournament in Panama City, Panama, on Jan. 28, 2006. It occurred when lenshou was filming a video segment for the television show "Shoot Like A Pro."
》PGA
PODS championship begins in the rain
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Bart Bryant got his bad shots out of the way early and birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 6-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead among early starters who were lucky to beat the rain in the PODS Championship.
BY DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
on the 16th.
Bryant was thrilled to twice escape with pars through six holes, and he wasn't paying that much attention to his card until he realized he was 4 under. Then came birdies on two of the toughest holes at Innisbrook, including a 15-foot putt on the 18th, and he found himself atop the leaderboard.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Perhaps it is not surprising that so many guys in their 40s — Bryant, Maggert, Perry, Tom Pernice Jr.
— were atop the leaderboard. This is a course that requires more brain than brawn, and experience tends to come in handy.
two months off during the summer. When he returned, his right elbow was acting up again, and he couldn't practice the last three months of the season.
Kelly was 3 under through 11 holes.
"I had a lot of confidence after Match Play," Cink said. "Even losing the last match, I was happy to be in the last match."
Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady shoots for three points against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of a basketball game Wednesday in Houston. McGrady scored 25 points in the Rockets 117-99 victory.
Carl Pettersson, who won at Innisbrook in 2005, and Jonathan Byrd were among those at 67. Jerry Kelly was 4 under through four holes when play was stopped by the storms. When play resumed he missed a good chance at a fifth straight birdie, then dropped a shot
Bryant said his right hip was in such bad shape that he took
"I felt like I got my bad stuff out of the way and I was still even par," Bryant said. "I think that gave me a little confidence."
Rockets win 16 in a row
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ernie Els, coming off a victory in the Honda Classic that ended an 0-for-47 drought on the PGA Tour, was part of the afternoon wave that did not finish the first round because of a $2\frac{1}{2}$-hour storm delay.
With Yao Ming gone for the season after injuring his foot, the Houston Rockets keep on rolling. They set a franchise record with their 16th consecutive win Wednesday night, routing Indiana 117-99. The Rockets are 4-0 since the All-Star center was sidelined.
"It's all about confidence," said Tracy McGrady, who scored 25 points. "We have great chemistry and guys know their roles here. We all are playing so well, we just can't
really count on one guy."
Els made two straight bogeys when he returned to the course, and finished his day with a birdie at No. 11 to return to even par.
John Daly, another player without a card but no shortage of exemptions, was 3 over through 10 holes and still got the biggest buzz. After ducking into a Hooters hospitality tent during the rain delay, he emerged with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden as his caddie for the rest of the afternoon. It didn't help much, as Daly three-putted from the front of the 18th green for another bogey.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who has not had full status on the PGA Tour since 2006, made good use of his sponsor's exemption with five birds that left him one stroke behind with three holes remaining.
The Cleveland Cavaliers can—as long as it's LeBron James, who had 50 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a 119-105 win at New York. The Madison Square Garden crowd even chanted "MVP" for the visitor.
“To get a standing ovation in the greatest basketball arena in the world, it was a dream come true for me?” James said. “It is one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
>> NBA
Kenny Perry hobbled around on a hip that felt like it was shooting volts down his leg, but he managed seven birds in a round of 66, tied with Jeff Maggert and Stewart Cink.
Cink was playing for the first time since losing to Tiger Woods at the Accenture Match Play Championship, and while he suffered the worst beating in the 10-year history of the final match (8 and 7), he figured this was a continuation of good play.
At Houston, the Rockets have won 20 of their last 21.
Rain earlier in the week took some of the bite out of the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, regarded as one of the toughest tour tracks in Florida, and rarely has it played this easy.
The first round was scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Friday. It was the first time rain has halted play on the PGA Tour this year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kenny Perry goes to his knees after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the PODS Championship golf tournament Thursday afternoon at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, Fla. Perry shot a five-under-par, 66.
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