There were frightening scenes at the Masters on Friday as three giant pine trees fell down due to high winds and stormy weather, narrowly avoiding spectators by the 16th green and 17th tee.
The terrifying footage capturing the incident at the 16th green was broadcast on ESPN’s TV coverage and shows spectators scrambling to avoid one of trees as it collapsed.
The Masters confirmed that no one was injured and said play had been suspended until Saturday morning.
There were shouts as the tree began to topple, which appears to have alerted some to the danger.
Eyewitness Megan Hill told the Augusta Chronicle: “I was sitting, looking, waiting for the next group to come up to the tee and it fell maybe eight to 10 chairs to our left.
“I stood up and screamed and thought, ‘Is it going to fall on me? It fell to the left of us and it was so scary. If the wind had been blowing a slightly different direction, we might have got hit.”
Another spectator, Deshey Thomas, added: “Pinecones were hitting us in the back, we turned around and looked up and heard a huge cracking noise and the tree basically crushed 10 chairs that were sitting there.
“Luckily we got everyone out of there. We were blessed.”
A statement from the Masters said: “Augusta National Golf Club can confirm that no injuries were reported from three trees that were blown over to the left of the No. 17 tee due to wind.
“The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters will always be the top priority of the club, which will continue to closely monitor weather today and through the tournament.
“The second round has been officially suspended for the rest of the day. Play will resume Saturday morning at 8:00am (12pm BST).”
Play was suspended for the second time at Augusta National due to the storms, following an earlier threat of lightning at the course.
Players were brought in from the course and spectators were also evacuated.
Reacting to the footage on Sky Sports, Sir Nick Faldo and Paul McGinley said there could have been serious injuries.
“Someone could have been killed, easily,” McGinley said. “Luckily no one was hurt.”
Masters groundstaff began to cut the fallen trees with chainsaws after players and spectators were taken off the course.
The storms had been expected throughout the day. Tournament officials moved all starting times up 30 minutes in the hopes of getting the second round in as scheduled.
Weather was pleasant in the morning, providing favourable scoring conditions, but it gave way to ominous clouds after lunch.
Includes reporting from PA
