A 'Weird' End to PGA Tour Event

Six climate protesters stormed the 18th green while the leaders were lining up their putts for the final hole of regulation at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship on Sunday, spraying smoke and powder and delaying the finish for about five minutes, the AP reports. The protesters waved smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface before Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim, and Akshay Bhatia finished their rounds. Some wore white T-shirts with the words "NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET" in black lettering on the front. "I was scared for my life," Bhatia said. "I didn't even really know what was happening. ... But thankfully the cops were there and kept us safe, because that's, you know, that's just weird stuff."

The PGA Tour issued a statement thanking the Cromwell Police Department "for their quick and decisive action" and noting that there was no damage to the 18th green that affected either the end of regulation or the playoff hole. "From my point of view, they got it taken care of pretty dang fast, and so we were very grateful for that," said Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, who beat Kim on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff for his sixth victory of the year. "I felt like Tom and I both tried to calm each other down so we could give it our best shot there on 18." Extinction Rebellion, an activist group with a history of disrupting events around the world, claimed responsibility for the protest.

In a statement emailed to the AP, the group blamed climate change for an electrical storm that injured two people at a home near the course on Saturday. "This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions," the statement said. "Golf, more than other events, is heavily reliant on good weather. Golf fans should therefore understand better than most the need for strong, immediate climate action." The crowd surrounding the 18th green apparently did not agree; some spectators heckled the protesters by yelling profanities and cheered the police who intervened. (More PGA Tour stories.)