Three tall pine trees fell near the Shepherds when storms battered Augusta National, Georgia, on Friday, but no one was injured, and the second round of the Masters tournament was suspended for the day amid high winds and rain.
The track was cleared once for 21 minutes by a series of previous storms. Horns sounded again at 4:22 PM when another group arrived, forcing an evacuation of the patrons and sending players and officials to cover.
Play was suspended for the day after 90 minutes. Round two is scheduled to resume at 8 a.m. EST on the Saturday before round three begins.
“The safety and well-being of everyone participating in The Masters Tournament will always be a top priority,” Augusta National said in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the weather today and during the tournament,” he added.
Just before the second honking, three giant pine trees slowly fell near the 17th tee, scattering about 50 people underneath. Near the 16th green, Harrison Crowe saw the tree fall and began to back away in surprise, while Sergio García’s green on the 15th stopped and watched what appeared to happen in slow motion.
“You could feel it there. This little tornado hit,” John Serran, a crew member, told the Australian Associated Press. “I snapped these trees. You can see them starting to make an impact. They were lucky and no one was killed. Very very lucky. »
Falling trees can be seen and heard from several holes throughout the property.
“We were climbing the fairway on the 15th. We thought it was a scoreboard or grandstand,” said Sahith Thigala, who is playing his first Masters tournament. “We hoped it wasn’t something that would affect anyone.”
The uprooted pines fell slowly, two of them supporting a third, giving time to the patrons below to move aside. But the close appeal is revealed by the many broken chairs under the fallen trees.
“I was talking to friends next to me and all of a sudden we heard a crack,” said Katie White, who was attending round two from Charleston, South Carolina. And there were three trees on the other side of the pond, and suddenly we saw them fall and everyone – it was like ants. They were like ants from there. All three fell at the same time. Then I just grabbed my friends’ hands and said, “Is everyone okay?” silent. »
White said she saw a woman standing between two fallen trees and heard a man crawl under some branches. She added that it was “certainly a miracle” that no one was injured.
“Then the siren went off and they took off because of the weather,” Waits said. “I called my father. He is a judge. He said this time they will not open the door again. Get out of there now.”
Workers quickly arrived with chainsaws to begin clearing the trees.
Storms were expected throughout the day and championship officials moved all pole times by 30 minutes in hopes of getting the second run as scheduled. The morning turned out to be hot and humid, with plenty of sunshine, but gave way to menacing clouds rising from the east shortly after lunchtime.
Koepka keeps rolling
Brooks Koepka was captain at the age of 12 when he stopped playing, enjoying the occasional starting times that left him at the club long before the Storm arrived. John Rahm was second by three strokes but still had nine holes to play, while champion American amateur Sam Bennett completed his second round and was an under-par 8 for the championship.
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., hit a par-4 par-4 under the 13th hole to tie him in the overall lead. He was the only Canadian above the expected cut line.
Among those still on the course is Tiger Woods, who is second and tied for 50th and has seven holes to play. The drop of 50 and ties between the two make a cut, and the five-time champion never fails to do just that at The Masters as a professional.
Rain is expected to continue through the weekend with high temperatures dropping into the 50s for Saturday.
“The weather can be interesting, especially when the storms come,” said defending champion Scotty Scheffler, who struggled to score a 3 of 75 on Friday and was under the top spot in the championship. Then we’ll see what happens. »
