Professional Spanish golfer Pablo Larrazabal was playing a round at the European Tour’s Maybank Malaysian Open on Friday when he was forced to leap into nearby water to escape a swarm of hornets.

Pablo Larrazabal Attacked By Hornets

When the hornets first started to attack Larrazabal, 30, he tried to swat them away with a towel. The towel proved futile, forcing the golfer to walk off the green and jump into a lake that was adjacent to the course. Before he was able to get his shirt off and get into the water, Larrazabal was stung 20 times, reported Yahoo Sports.

"They were three times the size of bees," he said. "They were huge and like 30 or 40 of them started to attack me big time. I didn't know what to do. My caddie told me to run, so I start running like a crazy guy, but the hornets were still there, so the other players told me to jump in the lake."

"I ran to the lake, threw my scorecard down, took off my shoes and jumped in the water. It was the scariest moment of my career, for sure. I've never been so scared."

Once Larrazabal made his way out of the lake, confident that the hornets were done with him, medics treated him for his stings with injections. Then, donning a new shirt and taking a club from his caddy, the athlete went on to get a birdie on the hole.

– Chelsea Regan