Golf pro apparently struck, killed by falling tree

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (AP) — A golf pro at a Massachusetts country club died apparently when a tree fell on his golf cart as violent thunderstorms with high winds moved through the region, police said.

Thomas Sullivan, the pro at Wyantenuck Country Club, was found on the ground next to the cart at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Facebook post by Great Barrington police. The cart was covered with trees and branches.

Responding officers administered first aid but Sullivan could not be revived, police said.

Police responded to the country club after getting a call from a neighbor reporting a golf cart with a tree on top of it on a dirt access road alongside the course, police said.

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Sullivan was checking the course for stray golfers as he always does during dangerous weather, the club said in an emailed statement.

Sullivan, 71, of Sheffield, had spent 21 years at Wyantenuck.

He was inducted into the Northeast New York PGA Hall of Fame in 2018.

“Tom will be sorely missed by the staff and members of Wyantenuck as well as those beyond Wyantenuck who sought his legendary golf lessons,” the statement said. He is survived by his wife and two children.

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The investigation is ongoing.

The Wednesday evening storms knocked out power to a peak of about 240,000 electric customers in the state, according to the state Emergency Management Agency.