PGA Tour travelers delayed as climate protesters storm on March 18

CROMWELL, Conn. — Six climate protesters stormed the 18th green as the leaders lined up their putts for the final regulation hole of the PGA Tour Travelers Championship on Sunday, delaying the finish by about five minutes.

Protesters came from all directions around the green and waved smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface before Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia completed their rounds. Some protesters wore white T-shirts with the words “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” in black letters on the front.

“I was scared for my life,” Bhatia said after finishing tied for fifth. “I didn’t even really know what was going on. … But luckily the cops were there and kept us safe, because it’s, you know, it’s just weird stuff.”

The crowd surrounding the 18th green heckled the demonstrators, shouting insults and applauding the police who intervened.

The PGA Tour released a statement thanking Cromwell police “for their quick and decisive action” and noting that there was no damage to the 18th green. Scheffler also praised the officers.

“From my point of view, they fixed it very quickly, and so we are very grateful for that,” said Scheffler, the world number one player, who went on to beat Kim in the sudden-death playoff in his sixth match . victory of the year.

“When something like that happens, you don’t really know what’s going on, so it can throw you off a bit. It can be a stressful situation, and you’d hate for the tournament to end with something weird because of A “

Extinction Rebellion, an activist group with a history of disrupting events around the world, claimed responsibility for the protest. In an emailed statement to The Associated Press, the group blamed climate change for the electrical storm that injured two people at a home near the course Saturday.

“This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions,” the statement said. “Golf, more than other events, is highly dependent on good weather, so golf fans should understand better than anyone the need for strong and immediate climate action.”

After the protesters were accosted by police and taken away, Scheffler left a potential 26-foot impact from the fringe on the right edge of the cup, then tapped in for par. Kim, who trailed by one stroke going into the final hole, sank a 10-foot birdie putt to tie Scheffler and send the tournament into a playoff.

Kim said the protest took his mind off the pressure.

“It kind of slowed things down,” he said. “That put putting aside for a second. Because for the past 17 and a half holes, all you think about is golf, and suddenly when that happens, your mind goes into a state full – like you almost didn’t even play golf. I thought it was a dream for a second.

After the regulation removal of players, workers equipped with leaf blowers came out to clean up the remaining powder, and the hole location was moved for the playoff, which began at number 18. Scheffler beat Kim with a par on the first hole-in-one. the death.

“They left a lot of marks on the greens, which is not acceptable for us players, especially when two guys are trying to win a golf tournament,” Kim said. “But I’m very grateful to the tour and tour security for handling this very well and making us players feel a lot safer.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.