The PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger isn’t the only thing that has the golf community buzzing ahead of the 2023 U.S. Open.
With the first round slated to begin Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club, those competing may hear some curious sounds around the 13th and 14th greens: the wildlife at the Playboy Mansion’s zoo.
“Yeah, you can hear the monkeys almost every time you go back there. There’s a bunch of other wildlife back there that you can hear occasionally,” Patrick Cantlay recently told Golf.com when asked if he’s “heard any weird noises in the area” close to the 14th tee.
The former home of the late Hugh Hefner, the property was purchased by the Playboy founder’s next-door neighbor, Daren Metropoulos of Metropoulos & Co, for $100 million in August 2016.
Page Six’s Francesca Bacardi confirmed in September 2017 that Metropoulos would keep the animals — which include monkeys, cockatoos, peacocks, and more —amid the locale’s significant renovations.
“Daren loves animals and the zoo and the animals will stay under his ownership,” Metropoulos’ rep said at the time.
Cantlay isn’t the only golfer who was pressed about the LACC’s infamous neighbor.
When asked by Golf.com if the mansion is “the weirdest neighbor to a golf course” he’s ever seen, Bryson DeChambeau replied, “Oh absolutely. I mean, so many things have gone on in that place.”
The 13th hole, which backs up to the mansion, is a par-4 at 507 yards while the 14th is a par-5 at 623 yards.
It remains to be seen if Cantlay and DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, will report back any strange sounds they might hear near the areas in question.
