This past Sunday, the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship took an unexpected and chaotic turn on the 18th hole when climate protesters stormed the green, interrupting world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler’s crucial putt. The drama unfolded as Scheffler was poised to putt for his sixth win of the season, only to be disrupted by at least five protesters who rushed onto the course.
The protesters threw smoke bombs and powdery substances onto the green, causing immediate chaos and forcing police to step in and apprehend them. The scene was intense, but the crowd’s reaction was swift, erupting into cheers and chants of “a***ole, a***ole” as the protesters were handcuffed and escorted off the course.
The most hated group in America (climate protestors) have STORMED THE GREEN at the 18th hole of the PGA Traveler’s tournament.
SEND THEM TO JAIL…or bury them under the fairway. Whatevs.
pic.twitter.com/T70uyBJphC— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) June 23, 2024
Once the situation was under control, tour officials and grounds crew members assessed the damage on the 18th green. The powdery substances posed a challenge, especially for the trio of golfers on the final hole, including Scheffler and Tom Kim, both vying for the win.
After a brief meeting, the grounds crew determined that the hole was still playable. Scheffler narrowly missed a tournament-winning putt by mere centimeters, leading to Tom Kim birdieing a six-foot putt and sending the tournament into a playoff.
The grounds crew then swiftly cleared the 18th green of the debris, taking under 10 minutes to make it playable again. They slightly moved the hole location to avoid the most damaged areas, allowing Kim and Scheffler to resume their playoff. In the end, Scheffler secured his sixth win of the season after Kim found a green-side bunker on the first playoff hole.
PROTESTORS STORM THE 18TH AT TPC RIVER HIGHLANDS@NUCLRGOLF @PGATUOR @GolfDigest pic.twitter.com/JSjcYidOaR
— TrackingScheffler (@SchefflerLegion) June 23, 2024
The disruption was part of a broader protest by roughly 50 climate activists rallying outside the tournament in Cromwell, Connecticut earlier in the week. The protesters, from groups such as Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Sierra Club Connecticut, and the Insure Our Future Coalition, marched with banners and signs calling on Travelers Insurance to end their coverage of the fossil fuel industry.
In a press release, the activist group Insure Our Future stated, “Approximately 50 Connecticut-based climate activists marched alongside the TPC River Highlands golf course today, with banners and signs that called on Travelers Insurance to end their insurance coverage of the fossil fuel industry.” Ann Gadwah, a Sierra Club organizer, added, “Travelers is one of the largest oil and gas insurers in the world and has over $3.5 billion invested in fossil fuel companies. The Travelers must catch up with other leading insurers and make meaningful commitments to end underwriting and investing in climate-destroying fossil fuel projects and companies.”
