Six people protesting climate change stormed the 18th green as the leaders lined up their putts on the final hole of regulation at the PGA Tour Travelers Championship on Sunday, delaying the finish by about five minutes.
The demonstrators spotted white and red powder, which previously left stains on the grass Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia completed their round. At least one member of the group wore a white T-shirt with the words “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” in black letters on the front.
Scottie Scheffler won the championship in a playoff, waiting for an upset to get his sixth win of the year. That’s the most wins in a single PGA Tour season since Tiger Woods had six in 2009. And Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, still has two months left.
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“I was scared for my life,” Bhatia said of the protesters after finishing in a tie for fifth place – four strokes behind Scheffler, who earned his sixth victory of the year. ‘I didn’t even really know what was going on. But luckily the police were there and we kept safe, because that’s, you know, that’s just weird stuff.”
After the protesters were tackled by police and taken away, Scheffler left a potential 7-yard clincher from the edge on the right side of the cup and then tapped in for par. Kim, who was one stroke behind heading into the final hole, sank a 10-foot birdie putt to tie Scheffler and send the tournament to a sudden-death playoff.
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Kim said the protest took his mind off the pressure.
“It has slowed things down a little bit,” he said. “It took a moment to understand the meaning of the putt. Because for the last 17 and a half holes, all you’re thinking about is golf, and suddenly when that happens, your thoughts go into a complete — like you almost wouldn’t even play golf anymore, I thought it was a dream for a while.”
The crowd around the 18th green heckled the protesters by shouting profanities and cheered police who intervened.
Cromwell police confirmed on Sunday evening that six protesters, ranging in age from 25 to 55, had been arrested. All were charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass and breach of peace. “The reason for their protest will not be released as the department does not wish to draw more attention to their case than has already been received,” police said.
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After the players dropped out under regular rules, workers came out with leaf blowers to clean up the remaining powder, and the hole’s location was moved for the playoff, which began at No. 18. Scheffler beat Kim with a par on the first playoff hole.
“They left a lot of marks on the greens, which is not good for us as players, especially when two guys are trying to win a golf tournament,” Kim said. “But I am very grateful for the tour and the tour security, because they handled it very well and made us as players feel much safer.”
Scheffler’s victory came a few weeks after the prosecutors criminal charges dropped against him on May 29, less than two weeks after he was arrested outside the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
Scheffler was initially charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and ignoring signals from officers directing traffic when he was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, where the tournament was taking place.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell told a judge his office could not move forward with charges against the world’s best golfer based on the proof and he decided to dismiss the case.
After the charges were dropped, Scheffler said on social media that he bore no ill will toward the detective who arrested him.
