Spectators were struck by lightning at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship as storms hit Cromwell, Connecticut, Saturday afternoon.
Play was suspended at 3:30 pm ET during the third round of the Tour’s latest flagship event as hazardous weather threatened the tournament at TPC River Highlands.
Fans were urged to seek shelter from the weather while players were moved to the safety of the club’s headquarters, but despite precautions, two spectators were struck by lightning almost an hour after the siren sounded. .
ET, the Cromwell Police Department began receiving 911 calls about lightning in the area of Pierson Green, a residential street located within the boundaries of the golf course.
First responders arrived at the scene and discovered that a tree had been struck with three people near the impact site, the Cromwell Fire Department said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com.
Spectators were struck by lightning at the Travelers Championship on Saturday afternoon
Tom Kim was leading before the horn sounded, suspending play for three hours.
Torrential rain, intense lightning and strong winds ravaged TPC River Highlands
Two people were treated by emergency services at the scene before being taken to hospital. Another refused treatment.
Torrential rain, intense lightning and strong winds devastated TPC River Highlands and golfers were forced to abandon play for nearly three hours.
Overnight leader Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia had established a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field after playing just six and seven holes of their third rounds, respectively.
PGA Tour stars, including the hunting party of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, finally managed to return to the course at 6:20 p.m. ET in hopes of completing the entire 18 holes in a race. against the fading light.
It was the second time the tournament was affected by storms. The Travelers had been forced into another three-hour delay the day before with new father Scheffler, who admitted he spent the break changing dirty diapers, among those completing their second round in front of evacuated galleries in New England.