By The Associated Press 

ST. LOUIS - A Missouri golfer whose round was interrupted when he was swallowed up by the earth says he's lucky to come out of it with just a shoulder injury.

Mark Mihal of Creve Coeur tumbled into an 18-foot deep sinkhole at an Illinois club just across the river from St. Louis. It's an area experts say is riddled with sinkholes.

Mihal says he was sizing up a shot at the Annbriar Golf Club near Waterloo when he was suddenly ``freefalling.'' He says the tumble took just a second or two but it ``felt like forever.'' Friends hoisted him to safety with a rope after about 20 minutes.

His fall followed the recent death of a man in Florida whose bedroom fell into a sinkhole. That man's body hasn't been found.

Mihal hopes to return to the links soon but says he may have a tough time walking the 14th hole at Annbriar again.