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Former winner Shaun Micheel encounters snake during US PGA Championship

Micheel was happy to give the snake a wide berth before a tournament volunteer stepped and used his foot to help usher the reptile out of the way.

By contributor Phil Casey, PA Golf Correspondent, Charlotte
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Shaun Micheel
Shaun Micheel shrugged off a close encounter with a snake on day two of the US PGA Championship (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Former champion Shaun Micheel shrugged off an unwelcome encounter with a snake on day two of the 107th US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

Micheel, who lifted the Wanamaker Trophy in 2003, was pacing off the distance of his third shot on the 10th hole when he came across a snake crossing the fairway on the par five.

Micheel was happy to give the snake – believed to be a non-venomous eastern kingsnake – a wide berth before a tournament volunteer stepped in and used his foot to help usher the reptile out of the way and into the rough.

After hitting his third shot to 12 feet, Micheel converted the birdie putt and also picked up another shot on the 11th as he battled to make the halfway cut in the US PGA for the first time since 2011.

The 56-year-old won his sole major title at Oak Hill in 2003, beating Chad Campbell by two shots after a birdie on the 72nd hole.

He also finished second in the same event at Medinah in 2006, five shots behind Tiger Woods.

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