This archive report was first published on 25 August 2019.
On August 24, 2019, a severe thunderstorm rolled in over the East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, causing a lightning strike that injured six people.
The incident occurred during the third round of the PGA Tour Championship, a major golf tournament. The lightning strike hit the course twice, prompting the tournament organizers to suspend play for the day and push the round to Sunday.
One of the injured individuals was Billy Kramer, a resident of Dunwoody, Georgia, and the owner of N.F.A. Burger, a food vendor at the tournament. Kramer was in a cart, driving to collect supplies for his stand, when a lightning bolt struck a nearby pine tree.
"It was like a sonic boom," Kramer said, describing the sound of the lightning strike.
Four people were initially reported to have been hurt by debris from the tree that was struck, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Later, tournament officials said two more people had been treated by medical personnel, but it was unclear if they were also hit by debris.
PGA Tour officials defended their decision not to move up tee times, citing the unpredictable nature of thunderstorms in the Southeast. "A lot of times we get lucky and we don't get hit with thunderstorms, especially when it's a situation where they're pop-ups like that," said Mark Russell, the tour's vice president of rules and competition.
The tournament resumed on Sunday morning, with the third round resuming where it had left off. The fourth round was not affected by the delay, and the tournament was able to conclude as originally planned.
