The 2023 Masters had a scary moment on Friday as a massive tree was caught on camera falling near one of the greens during play.
The focus of the golf world is currently on the 2023 Masters. The annual event is one of the most prestigious in the sport and the legendary green jacket that is awarded to winners is viewed as one of the biggest honors in all of golf. Unsurprisingly, the tournament makes headlines for each round, however, on Friday it was news fodder for a scary incident during play in Round 2.
Related: Who won the Masters today? Beyond the 2023 Masters leaderboard, takeaways from Round 1
While PGA Tour great and current LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia was on the 17th hole at Augusta National, a ruckus developed nearby that caught his and fans attention. It also got the notice of cameras as the ESPN broadcast panned over to an area near the 17th.
At that moment, cameras were able to catch a massive pine tree suddenly falling down with bystanders nearby. The footage of the moment can be seen below.
Following the moment, the network revealed that no fans were hurt in the shocking incident and that multiple trees fell in that area. Horns sounded to immediately bring a stop to play after the incident, and 2023 Masters officials announced that “There are thunderstorms approaching the area with heavy winds and lightning. Play has been suspended.”
The strong winds from the oncoming storm were believed to be the cause of the downed trees near 17.
USA Today Georgia sports writer Fletcher Page was able to get a quote from a patron of the 2023 Masters that was nearby when the horrifying event occurred.
“I was sitting, looking, waiting for the next group to come up to the tee and it fell maybe 8-10 chairs to our left,” Megan Hill of New York said. “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.”
We will keep you updated on if anymore information comes from the scary happenings on Friday from the 2023 Masters.