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The clubhouse at the legendary Oakland Hills Country Club outside Detroit became engulfed in a massive blaze on Thursday.
Oakland Hills, a century-old club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., has hosted a number of big golf tournaments, including six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup.
“It’s a tough, tough day,” said Rick Palmer, Oakland Hills club president, according to the Detroit News. “It’s really a devastating day for Oakland Hills, for the golf community, for our members, for our staff. There’s so much history. But the blessings are, nobody was injured and everybody got out of the building.”
Palmer added that the back of the clubhouse is “not recoverable.”
No details have been released yet about what caused the fire.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the clubhouse’s roof collapsed in the blaze.
“The devastating fire at the historic Oakland Hills Country Club today is such a tragic loss for the 100-year-old home to golfing greats from Sam Snead and Ben Hogan to Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to Chi-Chi Rodriguez and Tiger Woods,” tweeted Oakland County Executive David Coulter.
“I’m thankful that no one was hurt in the blaze and hope for a speedy recovery and rebuild for the club that has brought such a rich golfing heritage to Oakland County.”
Firefighters worked to salvage whatever memorabilia they could from the club.
“They pulled that memorabilia out and handed it off to the club members at the front door,” Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy told WXYZ in Detroit.
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