Golfer bitten by rattlesnake at Black Hills golf course dies

SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) - A golfer has died after he was bitten by a rattlesnake in South Dakota's Black Hills.

The Black Hills Pioneer reports the 70-year-old Illinois man was bitten Monday at Elkhorn Ridge Golf Course in Spearfish.

The course's golf pro, Mike Mendelson, says the man was looking for a ball in tall grass when he was bitten on the ankle. He was rushed back to the clubhouse in a cart where another employee performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, but was pronounced dead at Spearfish hospital.

Lawrence County Coroner Marty Goetsch identifies the golfer as Lawrence Walters of Geneseo, Illinois. Goetsch says the snakebite "started the events" that led to Walters' death.

The course plans to post more signs warning golfers of the potential danger of snakes lurking in tall grass.

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Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, http://www.bhpioneer.com