Sweden’s Joel Sjoholm has no trouble dealing with albatrosses, eagles and birdies but he had his hands full dealing with a determined swan on day three of the BMW International Open in Cologne.

Joel Sjoholm endeavouring to remove a swan from the 5th fairway. (Photo - SKY Sports TV)

Sjoholm, and the overnight leader at 11-under par, was preparing to hit his second shot into the par four, fifth hole on the Gut Larcenhof course when a swan started walking towards him.

The swan had left the water guarding the green and no matter how much Sjoholm tried (As shown in a picture taken from SKY’s coverage), the swan was not about to give up any ground to the Swede.

Finally, a tournament official arrived in a buggy and with the swan backing down and returning to join his young family in the water hazard.

Sjoholm, with a wedge in his hand, began waving his hands but to no avail.

“First of all, I love animals, so at first I was thinking that if I would bomb this, I would probably kill this swan,” he said.

“But then he was also in the way so I was trying to move him, but we moved him straight back in the first position.

“He was just in the way the whole time, and we didn’t realise that they had six chicks.

“I never saw them until we talked by and then I realised why he was so upset.  It was a little bit of a dangerous move but I guess it might have been quite funny, too.

“Vicious, but so beautiful, as well.  Good, fun moment today.”

A rules official then arrived in a motorised buggy and managed to entice the swan back into the water.

Sjoholm, who is still looking for his first Tour win, managed to birdie the hole but dropped three shots in the next four before remaining at his starting tally of 11-under par to share second place with England’s Chris Wood and just one behind England’s Danny Willett.