Climate Protests Crash PGA, Winner Scheffler Asks, ‘What Is Going On?’

One protester wore a shirt that said ‘no golf on a dead planet.’

AP/Seth Wenig
Climate protesters are taken into custody after they ran onto the course on the 18th hole during the final round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament Sunday. AP/Seth Wenig

During the final round of the PGA’s Travelers Championship at Cromwell, Connecticut, six climate activists disrupted play on the 18th green.

The protest left an orange powdery substance on the putting surface, causing a delay in the Sunday event.

The incident happened as golfers Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler were completing the hole. Prompt action from the police ensured the protesters were removed swiftly, allowing the tournament to continue.

The Daily Mail reports that the protesters were part of the environmental organization Extinction Rebellion. They wore T-shirts bearing anti-climate change slogans, including one that proclaimed “no golf on a dead planet.”

“You don’t really know what is going on, you don’t really understand the situation,” Mr. Scheffler said in a post-round intereview with CBS. “There’s people running around everywhere and you don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Mr. Scheffler said the police were to be lauded for a quick response and for removing the protesters from the 18th green, which let the golfers finish the tournament.

After the protest, Extinction Rebellion released a statement claiming responsibility and saying they were seeking to highlight the “worldwide danger of climate breakdown.”

“With this action, Extinction Rebellion is NOT protesting any individual or organization,” the group said in its statement. “Rather, the protest highlights the worldwide danger of climate breakdown.”


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