While the greens at East Lake Golf Club may appear calm and quiet, specially trained federal agents and their K-9s are working behind the scenes to protect thousands of spectators attending the PGA tournament.
An EXCLUSIVE inside look at keeping a major sporting event safe, LIVE on Channel 2 Action News at 6:00 p.m.
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting daily security sweeps of the course, searching for explosives and firearms before spectators arrive.
Channel 2 was there exclusively as ATF K-9 Agent Oakley, a 3-year-old Labrador, worked room by room with his handler, Agent Mariah May.
May said ATF teams have been arriving at the course around 6 a.m. each morning since the tournament began. They search for potential threats throughout the event.
“I know that this is a really huge event here in Atlanta,” May said.
The ATF says its specially trained dogs can detect odors that humans cannot.
“Our specially trained canines are able to smell and detect things that humans can’t smell and detect,” ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Graves said.
With an estimated turnout of nearly 60,000 spectators, Graves said the agency’s proactive security measures are critical.
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