A nice afternoon on the green in Indiana quickly turned into mayhem when a confrontation between golfers turned violent, landing a man in the hospital.
Jerry Whitaker, 34, was arrested and charged in connection to the assault after he knocked a 54-year-old golfer unconscious, allegedly causing him to stop breathing for ten seconds, according to Golf Digest.
The day took a turn for the worse after a flurry of insults were directed at Whitaker’s wife, who ran away in tears back to her group – leaving Whitaker demanding an apology and taking matters into his own hands.
Jerry Whitaker, 34, was arrested in Indiana after assaulting a 54-year-old man who began spewing derogatory words at his wife after their group ‘cut the line’ at a golf outing
The altercation happened on the green of The Links at Heartland Crossing in Morgan County, Indiana, on Friday afternoon
This came after the 54-year-old man, who remains unnamed, finished playing the ninth hole at The Links at Heartland Crossing in Morgan County on Friday afternoon, according to Fox 59.
He and his group stopped at the clubhouse to order some food.
Instead of stopping to order food, Whitaker’s group decided to play through and ‘cut’ the group that was placing an order in front of them.
The altercation erupted after the 54-year-old man became infuriated at Whitaker’s group for ‘cutting in front’ of him and his group of friends, claiming that it was against ‘proper golf etiquette’.
The middle-aged man didn’t let the incident blow over lightly, despite one of his own friends telling him ‘it wasn’t that big of a deal’ for the group behind them to play through, Fox 59 added.
But the confrontation only escalated when the irate man confronted Whitaker’s wife – telling her and her group that they were ‘a**holes’ and even going as far as calling his wife a ‘c***’.
After she ran away crying to her group of friends, Whitaker came back to confront the man about what was said and demanded that he apologized to his wife.
The two men began to ‘get in each other’s faces’ after the name-caller showed no interest in apologizing for his use of derogatory terms to a woman.
Whitaker began punching the older man before slamming him against the ground after the irate man called his wife ‘a**hole’ and a ‘c***’ – and then refused to apologize to her
Whitaker was arrested and is being charged for a Level 3 felony and the man was taken to the hospital and suffers multiple injuries – including seven broken ribs
The 54-year-old man was then punched multiple times before Whitaker grabbed him around the waist, lifted him up and slammed him to the ground following his refusal to apologize.
Medical staff at the hospital told police that the older man suffered seven broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken piece of vertebrae in his back after the assault, Golf Digest added.
The man also suffered from a laceration on his forehead that required several stitches, Fox 59 added.
Friends of the 54-year-old man claimed that when he was knocked unconscious, he stopped breathing for roughly ten seconds.
Jerry Whitaker, a Brownsburg resident, was taken into custody and will be charged with aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony; battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony and disorderly conduct, which is a Class B misdemeanor, Fox 59 added.
A Level 3 felony in the state of Indiana carries a prison sentence of up to 16 years.
