Harrison Crowe describes ‘scary’ moment when trees fell at Augusta
Australian amateur Harrison Crowe has described the agonising moments he waited to hear about the welfare of his family after a terrifying tree collapse at the Masters.
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Amateur Harrison Crowe walked 36 holes of Augusta National over three days but it was an agonising drive in a van from the 16th green to the clubhouse that caused him the most anxiety at the US Masters.
Crowe (75-77) missed the cut on his Masters bow but walked away convinced that his career is heading in the right direction, insisting his score didn’t reflect the way he played on his major debut.
He departs with some enduring memories as well as a sense of relief after getting up close and personal with three monstrous pine trees that fell during inclement weather in the second round, forcing organisers to suspend tournament play with players still on the course.
Crowe was on the 16th green at the time, only 50 metres or so from the trees. While he never felt threatened, his immediate concern was with his family and friends, who were following his group.
Crowe was aware that his mother was safe but it wasn’t until he got back to the clubhouse that he discovered the rest of his group were out of harm’s way.
“It happened very quickly and we hopped in a van,” Crowe said.
“I was like I hope everyone is alright, I hope they are at the clubhouse. [Mum} was there - I know she was alright. I wasn’t sure about everyone else.
“It was pretty scary. In the moment it was like what is happening. I didn’t know what was going on.
“Everyone was running over. It was a little bit chaotic - I was very thankful no-one got hurt and none was under it.
“That is definitely a rare occasion for a Masters - I am not sure if that has ever happened before. To be that close inside the ropes, seeing that, I can’t imagine what the bloke were like who were under there and having to get out the way.
“They have filled hole, cleared it. You can barely tell that tree was there.”
Crowe secured his place in the Masters field with a win in the Asia-Pacfic Amateur Championship and has now set his sights on the Open Championship, which he will also play later this year.
He had planned to turn professional before he secured a place in the Masters and Open fields - he will revisit that call later in the year, confident that he is ready to mix it with the big boys.
“I have learned a lot, for sure,” Crowe said.
“I am now starting to understand how tough this place can be and how brutal it can be. I just couldn’t quite get anything going.
“I learned a lot about myself and I felt like I belonged out there. The score - it definitely didn’t feel like how I played.
“I hit so many good golf shots. I was looking over some of the shots yesterday and some of the videos - I was like so many good golf shots.
“Just so many things didn’t go my way. The weather was quite cold, that’s for sure. To know I can hit shots like that out here for my first major, it is reassuring that I can hit the shots under this kind of pressure.
“I felt good out there and I learned a lot about myself - that I belonged out there.”
‘LUCKY NO ONE DIED’: INSIDE AUGUSTA’S TERRIFYING TREE DRAMA
Australian amateur Harrison Crowe has described the horrifying moment when three massive pine trees fell at Augusta National only 50 metres from where he was putting on the 16th green.
Augusta National confirmed on Saturday morning (AEDT) that no one was hurt in the incident, which came on a day when play was stopped on two occasions for inclement weather.
Crowe watched it all unfold from only metres away.
“I was on the 16 green,” Crowe said.
“We heard it — we watched the whole thing. It just started crackling and then it came down. It was scary — it was.”
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Crowe has been followed by an army of friends and family through the opening two rounds of the US Masters, his maiden appearance at the world’s most prestigious golf tournament.
Fortunately, they escaped injury.
“They were on the other side so that was lucky,” Crowe said.
“No one got hurt anyway so that was good.”
The Crowe entourage were still coming to grips with what happened when they spoke to News Corp on Saturday morning (AEDT). Shaunaugh wasn’t sure whether she would return the next day to watch Crowe complete his second round - the tournament was put on hold as inclement weather took over.
“My heart was up in my throat,” Shaunaugh said.
“First you heard this almighty crack. I looked over and saw this big tree toppling. Everyone turned up within two seconds.
“Then the security guard called out and said ‘no one has been hurt’ because, to see that, we were thinking someone has just been killed up there.
“No joke, I looked at Harrison and he was standing on the green and he put his hand on his mouth as if to say ‘oh no …’.
“By the time I got up to the clubhouse, I was in tears. I ended up having my asthma spray because, like seriously, I couldn’t cope.”
Crowe’s father Tony added: “There was just a loud crack, everyone scattered. We didn’t have to move - we were far enough away. It was pretty loud.
“One tree started and another tree went as well. Everyone knew it was coming down because you could hear it - it was in slow motion. It was hairy and scary.
“The worst part about it was all the security guards after the fact said you need to get off the course because more trees are going to fall down. “
Footage of the trees falling was shown on the broadcast of the Masters and subsequently went viral on social media.
It is understood some of the trees at Augusta are more than 100 years old. Augusta National released a statement confirming no injuries were reported.
Play had been stopped earlier in the day due to the weather but players returned to the course when officials thought it was safe to play, only for the falling trees to send players back to the clubhouse.
“It was very scary,” Serhan said.
“This little tornado whipped up - it didn’t last long but it obviously caught those trees. You could see them start to sway. They were lucky that no one got killed.
“Very, very lucky.”
Joseph Serhan, the son of Crowe’s coach John, was in the vicinity as well.
“We were all walking down the side of 16 and we got this huge gust up in our faces of sand and dirt,” he said.
“We thought here we go. As soon as we got out into the open, it was blowing harder and we could literally hear this crack.
“We all put our hands on our head and heard a bunch of people screaming. There were about 50 people sitting down and it was literally falling where people were sitting in their chairs.
“People were falling out of their chairs on the ground and crawling to get away. From where we were, we thought for sure they were going to get hit.
“You had zero chance. There was a lady that froze completely. The trees fell perfectly between her — there was about a metre gap either side of her.
“There were three or four trees out there that looked like they were going to fall down.”
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Augusta National released a statement confirming no injuries were reported after the trees were blown over adjacent to the 17th tee.
Play had been stopped earlier in the day due to the weather but players returned to the course when officials thought it was safe to play.
They were then forced to cancel the remainder of the second round after the trees came crashing down. Compatriot Min Woo Lee and former Masters winner Larry Mize were playing with Crowe, who won a place at Augusta National after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur tournament.
Australians Adam Scott (-4) and Cameron Smith (-2) were still on the course when the weather intervened. Jason Day (-5) had completed his round earlier in the day, finishing the second round seven shots behind leader Brooks Koepka.
“Augusta National Golf 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 statement said.
“The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters tournament will always be the top priority of the Club. We will continue to closely monitor weather today and through the tournament.”
Footage of the trees falling was shown on broadcast of the Masters and subsequently went viral on social media. It is understood some of the trees at Augusta are more than 100 years old.
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