The third round of the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii got off to one of the more memorable starts in PGA Tour history - with a inbound missile scare.
Along with the rest of the residents and tourists on the island, Sony Open participants awoke to an emergency alert warning of an inbound ballistic missile.
At 8:07 a.m. local time, a text message reading, “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill,” was sent to phones across the state.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted a that they had made a mistake 13 minutes later, but a cell phone correction was not issued until 8:45 a.m.
The mobile alert, “NO missile threat to Hawaii,” was finally sent out 38 minutes after the original cell phone warning.
NO missile threat to Hawaii.
— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) January 13, 2018
Obviously, that left plenty of time for everyone in the golf community - whether they were in Hawaii or not - to freak out.
And freak out they did:
— Emiliano Grillo (@GrilloEmiliano) January 13, 2018
UM WHAT?!? This can’t be real. Stay safe everyone in Hawaii 🙏🏼🙏🏼
— Michelle Wie (@MichelleWieWest) January 13, 2018
This is unreal,hiding in kitchen beachside missile attack from North Korea. Alarm went out all over Hawaii, and it’s no test...
— Jesper Parnevik (@JesperParnevik) January 13, 2018
Pheww!! https://t.co/NR94iS7E9j
— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) January 13, 2018
In a basement under hotel. Barely any service. Can you send confirmed message over radio or tv https://t.co/qHLeQSecnd
— JJ Spaun (@JJSpaun) January 13, 2018
Well this may be one of the scariest alerts I have ever received. Luckily it was a mistake. This is no small mistake. I hope it doesn’t happen again. pic.twitter.com/EjbwrJc5H0
— Austin Cook (@austincookgolf) January 13, 2018
Luckily, the missile scare did turn out to be a simple mistake made by a Hawaii emergency employee, but it is a morning that those involved will never forget.