Golf in Augusta: just past the catastrophe – sport

Silence is actually one of the core characteristics of Augusta National Golf Club. Not even songbirds are allowed on the premises – exactly how this is done is one of the club’s closely guarded secrets. In any case, according to numerous journalists who have been searching in recent years, you can’t see any in the trees – and you can’t hear them either. Quite unlike the chainsaws that roared on Friday afternoon, breaking the silence that otherwise provides the Masters’ unique acoustic setting in a most unusual way.

A storm had already announced itself in the Augusta area in the afternoon, and the second round was interrupted for 21 minutes. A little over an hour later the warning siren sounded again because lightning (highly dangerous on golf courses) had struck nearby – but not only that. Three large trees fell within a few minutes and almost led to a catastrophe: video recordings show that several spectators were in the area where the trees fell. A few centimeters probably saved the life of a woman who ended up between two tree trunks.

“You really felt it,” said caddy John Serhan, who was with his Australian player Harrison Crowe near the trees on lane 16, the AP news agency: “They were lucky that nobody died. Very lucky.” One of the viewers, Deshey Thomas, said that Augusta Chronicle, pine cones fell on his back, which is why he looked up and “just got to the side”. The organizers spoke up a few minutes after the accident and confirmed that there were no injuries. “We will continue to monitor the weather today and throughout the tournament,” the Augusta National Golf Club said.

The tournament was suspended for the remainder of the afternoon to allow the cleanup to continue. The second round will now continue on Saturday morning (local time), with the weather conditions remaining difficult: It is expected to be around 20 degrees cooler than on Friday in Georgia at the weekend, and a lot of wind and heavy rain are expected. The final decision on who will make the cut and who will also start in the third and fourth round is still open. Even if some results are already certain, some with big surprises.

Co-favorite Rory McIlroy, for example, failed in the first two rounds because of his place and himself: his rounds of 72 and 77 strokes were not enough to qualify for the continuation of the game. In the end, McIlroy even fell behind Bernhard Langer. The German veteran did not make the cut again in his 40th appearance at the Masters, but he did a more than honorable job considering his age. “At least once,” said Langer after his round at Sky, he still wanted to compete in Augusta next year: “Then we’ll see.” However, he will still watch the weekend as a spectator, even if the weather is bad.