Lightning Strikes, Tree Falls Unto Genesis Open Golf Tournament. Course closed for the day

The wind toppled a large eucalyptus tree onto a pathway at the golf course at the Genesis just before noon. The tree appears to have fallen on no one but startled onlookers. The annual tournament, formerly known as the Northern Trust open or the Los Angeles open, has been held today on the rainiest day in Los Angeles in 15 years.

The event is held at the Riviera country club in Pacific Palisades, California. 20 minutes after the tree fell, play was temporarily suspended due to inclement weather. It has in fact been raining all day.

After wind and lightning and rain fell this tree Riviera country club the Genesis Open was closed--called for the day.

Play in the second round was suspended at 12:18 p.m. Friday when high winds and a driving rain from a powerful storm sweeping Southern California made the course unplayable. A large tree limb crashed to the ground not far from a spectator area near the 15th tee, making it also unsafe for spectators, said the LA Times.

Tournament officials considered themselves lucky to get in as much play as they did. Early forecasts called for heavy rain around 11 a.m. However, the storm cells stayed north longer than expected, allowing several groups in the morning session to finish their round.

Play is scheduled to resume with the remainder of the second round at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Crews will be out on the course by 4:30 a.m. to start cleaning up debris, officials said.

“We hope to finish by Sunday afternoon,” said Mark Russell, vice president of competition and rules for the PGA Tour.

Official press release follows:

Friday’s second round of the PGA TOUR’s Genesis Open at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. was suspended at 12:18 p.m. PT, due to inclement weather, and play will not resume today. Second-round play for the Genesis Open will resume Saturday at 7 a.m. PT. Twenty-one (21) golfers finished their second round play on Friday. Second-round play began at 7:10 a.m. PT on Friday.

Forty-eight (48) golfers continued their first round of play at the Genesis Open at 7 a.m. PT on Friday (Thursday’s first round was suspended at 5:34 p.m. PT, due to darkness). The first round was completed at 8:37 a.m. PT Friday.

Ticket policy: All Friday grounds tickets will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 18 or Sunday, Feb. 19. Friday clubhouse tickets will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 18 or Sunday, Feb. 19.

For the latest tournament updates, please visit GenesisOpen.com or follow the tournament on social media @genesisopen on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Thank you for your interest in the Genesis Open"