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Six climate protesters disrupted the final moments of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship on Sunday, storming the 18th green while the leaders lined up their putts for the last hole of regulation. The protesters sprayed smoke and powder, delaying the tournament's conclusion for about five minutes.
The demonstrators, waving smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface, wore white T-shirts with "NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET" printed in black. Despite the interruption, Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim, and Akshay Bhatia managed to complete their rounds.
"I was scared for my life," Bhatia said. "I didn’t even really know what was happening. But thankfully, the cops were there and kept us safe, because that’s just weird stuff."
The PGA Tour issued a statement expressing gratitude to the Cromwell Police Department for their prompt action and noted that the 18th green sustained no damage affecting play. Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, who had a brush with law enforcement during the PGA Championship, also praised the officers.
"From my point of view, they got it taken care of pretty dang fast, and so we were very grateful for that," Scheffler said. He later won his sixth tournament of the year by defeating Kim in a sudden-death playoff.
"When something like that happens, you don’t really know what’s happening, so it can kind of rattle you a little bit," Scheffler added. "That can be a stressful situation, and you would hate for the tournament to end on something weird happening because of a situation like that. I felt like Tom and I both tried to calm each other down so we could give it our best shot there on 18."
Extinction Rebellion, an activist group known for disrupting events worldwide, claimed responsibility for the protest. The group blamed climate change for an electrical storm that injured two people near the course on Saturday. "This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions," their statement read. "Golf, more than other events, is heavily reliant on good weather. Golf fans should therefore understand better than most the need for strong, immediate climate action."
After police tackled and removed the protesters, Scheffler narrowly missed a potential 26-foot winning putt, then tapped in for par. Kim, trailing by one stroke, sank a 10-foot birdie putt to tie Scheffler and force a playoff.
Kim noted that the protest briefly alleviated the pressure. "It kind of slowed things down," he said. "It took the meaning of the putt away for a second. Because for the past 17 and a half holes all you’re thinking about is golf, and suddenly when that happens your mind goes into a complete — like, you’re almost not even playing golf anymore. I thought it was a dream for a second."
Spectators around the 18th green heckled the protesters with profanities and cheered the police's intervention. After regulation play, workers used leaf blowers to clear the remaining powder from the green.
The playoff also took place on the 18th hole, with the location altered. Scheffler parred the first hole of sudden death to secure the victory.
"They left a lot of marks on the greens, which is not right for us players — especially when two guys are trying to win a golf tournament," Kim said. "But I’m very grateful for the tour and the tour security for handling that really well and making us players feel a lot safer."
