Scottie Scheffler collected his sixth victory of the year on the PGA TOUR with a dramatic play-off victory against Tom Kim in the Travelers Championship following climate protest disruption.
The world No. 1 entered the final round at TPC River Highlands in contention just a shot off the lead and hit a bogey-free 65 which included five birdies to end on 22 under alongside overnight leader Tom Kim to set up a play-off.
Towards the conclusion of the last round, a cohort of six demonstrators, a few adorned in shirts proclaiming “No golf on a dead planet,” surged onto the 18th green in protest, setting off smoke bombs and sprinkling powder on the surface. Law enforcement swiftly removed them, and the green was cleared amid chants of “USA, USA, USA” from the crowd.
The first play-off hole was set to commence on the 18th but this was changed so organizers could clear the surface following the protest. In the first play-off hole, Kim was unable to get up and down the bunker and save par which Scheffler capitalized on by sinking in a birdie to secure another PGA TOUR victory in 2024.
This triumph means that Scheffler has become the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six times before July.
“It has been a great season,” Scheffler said. “I’ve been fortunate to come away with some wins and it has been a lot of fun. Tom played his heart out today. He’s a great player, great champion and it was fun battling with him today.”
There was a tie for third between Tom Hoge and Sungjae Im whilst there was also an all-American tie for fifth which included Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
When asked about the incident on the 18th, Scheffler said: “Fortunately for Tom and me we’re great friends so we were able to kind of relax each other. You don’t really understand the situation, there’s people running around everywhere and you don’t really know what’s going to happen so it’s a bit confusing.”
Akshay Bhatia said: “I mean, I was scared for my life. I didn’t even really know what was happening. I was in shock and my heart rate was high. It got low and then once that kind of happened I was just freaked out, I just tried get over where everyone was.”
Following the conclusion of the event, UK-founded global environmental movement, Extinction Rebellion, claimed responsibility.
All six protestors have since been charged with first degree criminal mischief, first degree criminal trespass, and breach of peace and will be due in court on 1st July.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Rocket Mortgage Classic taking place between 27-30 June at Detroit Golf Club.
