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Video: New Angle Shows Augusta Trees Barely Missed Spectators, Chairs as They Crashed to Ground

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Players at the 2023 Masters golf tournament would have been excused if, instead of yelling “Fore!” prior to teeing off, they let loose with cries of “Timber!” instead.

New video shows three pine trees coming down near the 17th hole of the Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, barely missing a handful of people who had been in the area.

One witness told Yahoo Sports that injuries were avoided only “miraculously.”

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Spectators were warned about the coming fall when pine cones began dropping off the tree, one witness told The Augusta Chronicle.

“It fell on my chair,” Sylvia Martin told the outlet. “We were sitting under the umbrella because of the pine cones. We were kinda laughing and joking it was raining pine cones and pine needles.

Is God’s mercy the only explanation for no one being hurt?

“All of a sudden, the people behind us were paying attention,” Martin said.”We heard cracking. Everyone started running, so we were trying to get over the rope (into the fairway). We had nowhere to go because people were behind us.”

According to The Chronicle, bystander Deshey Thomas of North Carolina gets the credit for warning people to get out of the way.

“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,” Thomas said. “Luckily we got everyone out of there. We were blessed.”

Augusta National later confirmed on social media that no injuries occurred in the incident, which led to a weather delay for the remainder of Good Friday.

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“Augusta National Gulf 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 Masters wrote in a “tournament update” posted to Twitter early Friday evening. “The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament will always be the top priority of the Club, which will continue to 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 8:00 a.m. EDT. Ticket gates will open at 7:00 a.m. EDT as scheduled.”

Spaniard John Rahm won the tournament on Sunday.

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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
Birthplace
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Beta Gamma Sigma
Education
B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG
Location
North Carolina
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics




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