Felicity Johnson: "As were playing the ninth, we could see the smoke in the distance but it seemed to get closer pretty quickly ... It is pretty scary when you suddenly see flames and then hear them."
Friday 7 August 2020 23:38, UK
Play at the Rose Ladies Series Grand Final was suspended on Friday afternoon due to a fire at Wentworth and a resumption on Saturday appears unlikely.
As of late Friday evening, 30 fire crews were on-site trying to deal with the blaze, which began on Chobham Common and spread to the nearby golf course.
Golfers, caddies and staff were forced to evacuate the area on Friday afternoon, as smoke from the fire engulfed the course.
There are 41 hectares under threat and firefighters are continuing to try and control the spread.
Crews will work through Friday night and will hopefully extinguish the fires on Saturday but there remains a possibility that they could continue into Sunday.
Roads around the area remain closed for the foreseeable future and some homes have been evacuated.
Tournament organisers had been hoping to resume play at 9.30am on Saturday but that now looks highly unlikely.
Felicity Johnson was one of the golfers who was on the course when the fire arrived.
She said: "As were playing the ninth, we could see the smoke in the distance but it seemed to get closer pretty quickly. We were waiting on the ninth green to see what was happening and then [there were] some flames - and you could hear it, the noise of it.
"It is pretty scary when you suddenly see flames and then hear them. We all know how fast fire can travel so it was pretty scary for a moment there. We just had to stay at a safe distance and hope it could be brought under control."
Jamie Weir of Sky Sports News was at Wentworth and said: "We were told to evacuate the area when the fire was heading towards the 12th hole here on the West Course.
"The one good thing is that a golf course does have irrigation systems and sprinklers in place - so they can put out the fire."
Alice Hewson had been on course to claim overall victory as she covered the first seven holes in one under, making her second birdie of the day at the seventh, shortly before the players were removed from the course.
Hewson leads the 54-hole finale on six under, two clear of Solheim Cup star Charley Hull, while Series co-founder Liz Young and 2018 Women's Open champion Georgia Hall are both two under for their rounds and three strokes off the lead.
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