A golfer has been bitten on the leg by a crocodile while playing at an Australian tourist resort.

Police Senior Sergeant James Coate told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the man, aged in his 70s, received two puncture holes to his left calf.

He was bitten by a 4ft saltwater crocodile yesterday at the Palmer Sea Reef Golf Course at the tourist town of Port Douglas on Queensland state's Great Barrier Reef.

The officer said the man, whose name has not been released, was taken to the Mossman Hospital in a stable condition.

He said the crocodile had been lurking in a waterway on the 11th hole.

The department of environment and heritage protection will attempt to catch the crocodile, which is a protected species.

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