Climate protesters disrupt play on the 18th hole of the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship

CNN
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Protesters ran onto the 18th green in the final round of the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, on Sunday, leaving a powdery substance on the putting surface and delaying play for several minutes.

A video from broadcaster CBS showed several of the five demonstrators wearing shirts that read: “No wave on a dead planet.”

Extinction Rebellion, a climate activist group, said it was behind the incident.

Police quickly cleared the protesters, allowing the final group, including leaders Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler, to finish the hole in a draw and advance to a playoff.

The pair teed off again on the 18th with Scheffler ultimately winning.

He said he and Kim helped calm each other down as police worked quickly.

“You don’t really know what’s going on, you don’t really understand the situation,” Scheffler said in a post-game interview with CBS Sports. “People are running around everywhere and you don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

He credited the police for doing an excellent job in handcuffing and removing the protesters.

Kim told reporters it was a dream, but the moment temporarily distracted him from the importance of making his putt because he was afraid people would get hurt.

In a video on social media, officers can be seen wrestling three protesters to the ground. Another protester is tackled by an officer and drops a bag they were holding. Fans can be heard booing and shouting obscenities at the protesters.

At the players’ press conference, Scheffler said the initial chaos with people running around was a bit jarring.

“You don’t know if they’re peaceful, you don’t know what they’re doing, you have no idea what’s going on, so it can be a little bit stressful,” he told reporters.

A senior spokesperson for the PGA Tour told CNN that the protesters were “immediately arrested.”

“The powder on the green was removed, leaving no damage to the 18th green,” said Joel Schuchmann. “Our thanks to Cromwell Police for their quick and decisive action.”

CNN has contacted police for more information.

In a statement released shortly after the incident, Extinction Rebellion said it was trying to draw attention to climate change.

“With this action, Extinction Rebellion is NOT protesting against an individual or organization. On the contrary, the protest highlights the global danger of a climate crisis,” the group said in its statement.

“Golf, more than other events, is highly dependent on good weather. Golf fans should therefore understand better than most the need for strong, immediate climate action,” the group added.

Extinction Rebellion is known for its attention-grabbing tactics. The activists have made international headlines for past protests, including dumping green paint into Venice’s Grand Canal, taping up a Picasso painting, smashing bank windows and spraying fake blood on buildings to draw attention on climate problems.

“At this point, the only option left is to engage in unconventional forms of protest that draw attention to the severity of the climate crisis,” the group said in its press release.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Sharif Paget contributed to this report.