2019 U.S. Women's Open - Dry Lightning Strike

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Dry Lightning Strike near the 18th Green

A record heat wave gripped the Lowcountry during the last week of May, with an unprecedented four days in a row of 100-degree temperatures. The LPGA Tour came to Charleston on Memorial Day for the week long U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament, and the conditions during the practice days were oppressive. Lowcountry residents understand that hot summer weather often brings afternoon thunderstorms, but record heat can also create severe weather, like the dry lightning strike that killed a live oak tree at the Country Club of Charleston on May 31, during a severe weather delay at the women’s major tournament.

            

The U.S. Golf Association made a big announcement on Tuesday that the winner’s purse for the U.S. Women’s Open would be boosted by a further $500,000-dollars, bringing the winner’s check to a whopping 1 million dollars. At the end of the final round on James Island on Sunday, it was Korean golfer Jeongeun Lee6 who claimed the title with three birdies on the back nine holes. The 6 at the end of Lee’s name comes from the Korean LPGA Tour where multiple players have the same name, and they use a numerical denotation for identification purposes.

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The City of Charleston came out to support the U.S. Women’s Open, but the seeds for this major golf tournament coming to the Country Club of Charleston were decades in the making. One of the legends of the professional ladies golf tour is Charleston native Beth Daniel, who grew up playing golf at the Country Club, before going on to a stellar college golf career at Furman University. Daniel won 33 LPGA tour events including one major title in 1990, and has been inducted into their hall of fame. Her close ties to the Country Club of Charleston were omnipresent during this 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.

            

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The weather on Friday May 31 was a scorcher, but a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms had been forecast. The second round of the golf tournament was halted during afternoon play when thunderstorms began to appear along the sea breeze frontal line just inland. Players and fans were removed from the golf course as a safety precaution, and not long afterward a strong bolt of lightning struck a live oak tree very near the 18th green where a host of supporters would have been congregating.

To read the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

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