"Somewhere in the exchange, the pro swatted at the gentlemen's hat..."

Sylvain Metz reports on the type of player-fan interaction that you don't normally see on the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour player Bill Glasson withdrew from the Southern Farm Bureau Classic Saturday after he was involved in a physical altercation with a spectator, tournament officials said Monday.

Glasson, 46, allegedly struck an “elderly gentleman” Saturday morning after the men got into a shouting match over a driving incident on the way to the tournament, said Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge.

Glasson withdrew from the tournament, said Randy Watkins, the SFBC tournament director.

“He was advised of the position of both the tournament and the Tour and how they felt about the matter and he willfully withdrew on his own,” Watkins said. “I agreed with Bill's decision. He needed to leave. It was best for him and everybody, that he put it behind him and withdraw.”

And his agent definitely earned his 10% with this defense:

His manager, Dennis Harrington of Links Sports, said Glasson argued with a man in the Annandale Golf Club parking lot whom Glasson said cut in front of him at an intersection. He did not strike the man, said Harrington, but did “flip his cap off his head” after the man did not apologize and a passenger in the car “taunted” Glasson.

“Hindsight is 20-20,” Harrington added. “I'm sure Bill wishes that he didn't go up and say something, but he still feels he has the right to say something to somebody when they almost caused an accident. The bad part was they didn't apologize and then they provoked him.”

Oops, left out one detail.

“Somewhere in the exchange, the pro swatted at the gentlemen's hat, hitting him in the face and knocking off his glasses,” Trowbridge said.

At that point, sheriff's deputies were called, the sheriff said.

The spectator declined to press charges although he was told he can file them at a later date, Trowbridge said. “Had we been there (to witness this) we would have arrested the pro,” he added.