Six hurt in lightning strike at PGA event
Six people were injured Saturday when lightning struck a 60-foot pine at the Tour Championship where they were taking cover from rain and showered them with debris, Atlanta police said.
The third round of the season-ending PGA Tour event had been suspended for about 30 minutes because of storms in the area, and fans were instructed to seek shelter. The strike hit the top of the tree just off the 16th tee and shattered the bark all the way to the bottom.
Brad Uhl of Atlanta was crammed under a hospitality tent to the right of the 16th hole that was open to the public.
“There was just a big explosion and then an aftershock so strong you could feel the wind from it,” Uhl said after the last of the ambulances pulled out of the golf course.
Atlanta Police spokesman James H. White III said five men and one female juvenile had sought shelter beneath the tree that was struck by lightning. He said they were taken to hospitals for further treatment, all of them alert, conscious and breathing.
Ambulances streamed into the private club about 6 miles east of downtown Atlanta, where 30 players are competing for the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. The players already had been taken into the clubhouse before lightning hit.
Justin Thomas, who had a one-shot lead through five holes when play was halted, said players were eating in the clubhouse when “it felt like the entire clubhouse shook” from the thunder clap.
LPGA Tour: Top-ranked Jin Young Ko shot a 7-under 65 to grab a share of the lead heading into the final round of the CP Women's Open in Aurora, Ontario.
Ko is tied with Nicole Broch Larsen at 18 under at Magna Golf Club.
Champions Tour: Fred Couples made a hole-in-one in a round of 9-under 63 and built a five-shot lead after three rounds of the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Washington, his hometown tournament.