There have been terrifying scenes at the Masters after wild weather caused multiple trees to be uprooted with the play eventually suspended for the day.
Players and spectators were left running for cover when the trees fell near the 17th tee. Incredibly no one was hurt in the incident.
Three trees collapsed to the turf, with two uprooted while one other snapped halfway up the trunk.
READ MORE: ‘Disappointed’ Dolphins rue costly new rule
READ MORE: Latrell’s milestone blitz ignites Bunnies
READ MORE: Lightning stops rugby match as crowd ducks for cover
The Augusta National suspended play for the second time in the day just moments after the frightening incident.
“We were cresting the fairway on 15. We thought it was a scoreboard or a grandstand,” said Sahith Theegala, who is playing in his first Masters. “We were hoping it wasn’t something that hit anybody.”
Everyone escaped harm, but the close call was evidenced by several crushed chairs beneath the fallen pines.
CLICK HERE FOR SECOND ROUND SCORES FROM THE MASTERS
“I was talking to friends next to me and all of sudden we heard a crack,” said Katie Waites, a patron from Charleston, South Carolina. “And there were three trees across the pond, and all of a sudden we saw them falling and everybody — it was just like ants. They were like, scattering just like ants from beneath. All three fell at the same time. And then I just grabbed my friends’ hands we were like, ‘Is everyone OK?’ And it was silent.”
Waites said she saw one woman standing between the two fallen trees, and she had heard that a man had crawled out from beneath some of the limbs. She added that it was “absolutely a miracle” that nobody was hurt.
“Then the alarms went off and they evacuated again because of weather,” Waites said. “I called my dad. He’s a judge. And he said this time they are not going to open it back up. Get out of there now.”
Australian amateur Harrison Crowe and world No.48 Min Woo Lee were less than 50 metres away from the collapse, putting on the 16th green.
American star Brooks Koepka topped the leaderboard at 12-under when play was called.
Koepka currently leads Spain’s Jon Rahm (-9) and American amateur Sam Bennett (-8) who round out the top three on the leaderboard.
Jason Day (-5) currently leads all Australians in equal sixth place, with Adam Scott in 10th position (-4).
Stream the US Masters for free on 9Now or watch live on 9GemHD
Tournament officials returned to the course with chainsaws after players and fans were evacuated from the area.
The Augusta National has confirmed that play will resume at 8am local time on Saturday morning (10pm AEST).
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
US Masters 2023 in pictures: Sergio Garcia’s withering response to LIV Golf question
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
