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Fans scampered for safety at the world’s biggest gold tournament as play was suspended after a storm moved into the area
Three towering pine trees came crashing down near the tee box of the par-four 17th hole at Augusta National on Friday and sent patrons running for safety before play at the Masters was suspended for the day as a storm moved into the area.
Augusta National Golf Club said nobody was injured from the trees that fell down as breezy northeasterly winds ushered in colder conditions.
Threatening weather forced officials to suspend play for a second time on Friday afternoon before they ultimately decided to resume the round on Saturday morning.
"The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament will always be the top priority of the club," Augusta National Golf Club said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters. "We will continue to closely monitor the weather today and through the tournament."
Moments after the trees came down under darkening skies, there were several crew members on sight cleaning up the debris.
The second round was initially interrupted for 21 minutes on Friday afternoon as a storm cell moved through the area and many of the patrons who had been in the vicinity of the fallen trees were not back in position when they came down.
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"We were cresting the fairway on 15. We thought it was a scoreboard or a grandstand," said Masters debutant Sahith Theegala, who was playing alongside 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and Canada's Adam Svensson.
Many of the pines found in the original forested part of Augusta National are over 150 years old while many others were planted when the course was built.
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