Over the weekend, Raul Sanderson from Phoenix, Arizona, caught fire while playing a round of golf with his buddies. Sanderson was engulfed in flames as he attempted a putt on the 18th green.
“Man, I’ve never seen anything like it”, said Sanderson’s golfing companion Paco DeLune. “He was having a great round—possibly the best one of his career—when suddenly, flames erupted from the ground and engulfed his entire body.”
Sanderson was standing over a 2-inch putt on the 18th green as Paco snapped a picture of him and documented the moment. Evidently, a methane gas explosion was to blame. The hole had been inadvertently positioned over a pocket of methane gas while the golf course had been constructed over a landfill. The gas must have been ignited by Sanderson, who was smoking a large cigar as he celebrated his incredible round. The rest of his golfing companions jumped into action and used golf towels to put out the fire. Sanderson was brought into a nearby hospital where he was diagnosed with severe burns to his face and upper body. When asked if he had smelled the gas as he stood over the hole he said, “Although I noticed a strange odor, I assumed it belonged to one of my friends. You know how it goes when guys get together and smoke cigars and drink beer.” Despite being on fire, Sanderson miraculously maintained his composure and tapped the putt in for a birdie. The best score he had ever recorded was a round-ending 5 under par. “He just gritted his teeth and tapped in the putt”, Paco said.
It was asked if this had ever happened before and how they could stop it from happening again from Nick Froden, the head groundskeeper. He replied, “Never before has it occurred. Throughout the course, we have hundreds of tubes that are intended to release any methane gas that accumulates from the decaying waste below. To stop any gas from escaping, we might need to install cups with solid bottoms.”