Attorney defends golfer's actions

The attorney for a man charged with hitting another golfer in the head with a sand wedge Sunday says his client has been charged in what is "clearly a case of self-defense."

Donald Sauvageau reacted after Albert "Sonny" Skar instigated a fight, threatened to kill him and verbally assaulted Sauvageau's wife, attorney Steve Light said Tuesday.

"It was simply done only as a defensive measure and that was it, and I'm confident that the evidence will show that," Light said. "Had he not been provoked and threatened, this incident would have never happened."

Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Reid Brady declined to comment on Light's statements, saying his office considers possible defenses when charging out a case and respects a defendant's right to a fair trial.

Sauvageau was released from jail Tuesday after posting $2,500 cash bail. The 57-year-old Fargo man is charged in Cass County District Court with felony aggravated assault in connection with the Sunday incident in the Rose Creek Golf Course parking lot.

Skar, Maplewood, N.D., did not return a message seeking comment.

Court documents state:

Sauvageau and Skar, 55, have had numerous confrontations in the past on the golf course and had been arguing Sunday about how fast Skar and his partner, Ethan Olson, were playing, according to Olson. After their rounds of golf about 5 p.m. Sauvageau approached Skar and the two exchanged words.

Skar said Sauvageau then struck him in the head with a golf club, saying he saw stars and thought Sauvageau was going to hit him again.

Sauvageau said he was upset that Skar yelled at his wife and reached in to his golf bag and took out a sand wedge.

Sauvageau said he accidently hit Skar in the head, causing him to fall to the ground. He said he immediately went up and apologized and told police it "was a stupid thing to do. I had no right to smack him."

Skar was taken by ambulance to Fargo MeritCare Hospital, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Sauvageau has no prior record and is a lifelong Fargo resident, Light said.

"It's clearly a case of self-defense, there's no question about that," he said.