Scottie Scheffler was 'stressed' and 'rattled' by police 'running around green'
Scottie Scheffler won the Travelers Championship last year through a tense play-off with Tom Kim, but his victory wasn't without its troubles as the tournament drew to a close
Scottie Scheffler found himself under pressure during the final round of last year's Travelers Championship when protestors invaded the 18th green. The world No. 1 was in a make or break situation as he prepared his putt on the final hole of TPC River Highlands, just as climate activists from Extinction Rebellion staged a protest.
One demonstrator taunted police with a flare before being tackled to the ground amid boos from the crowd, while several others wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with 'No golf on a dead planet' were quickly apprehended. In total, six individuals were arrested and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree criminal trespass and breach of peace.
The disruption, which lasted a mere five minutes, occurred as Scheffler was preparing for a tournament-defining putt - a birdie would have secured him an outright victory on the Sunday. However, he ultimately missed the shot and had to settle for par, while Tom Kim managed to sink his own birdie to match Scheffler's 22-under-par lead and force a playoff.
During the replay, Scheffler comfortably made par to Kim's bogey to win the tournament. However, he did confess that the antics of protestors had left him rattled on the 18th green.
Reflecting on the unsettling scenes, he said: "When something like that happens, you don't really know what's happening, so it can kind of rattle you a little bit, because there's people running around the green and there's police officers running around and you don't know if they're peaceful, so it can be a bit stressful."
Meanwhile, fellow golfer Akshay Bhatia, who faced the tension alongside Scheffler in the final group, revealed the ordeal left him shaken. He said: "I was scared for my life.
"I didn't even really know what was happening. All of a sudden, four, five people come out running on the green. It was kind of weird. But thankfully the cops were there and kept us safe."
Scheffler came into this year's Travelers Championship aiming to redeem himself following a lacklustre US Open showing at Oakmont Country Club. Despite high expectations, the 28-year-old could only muster a shared seventh-place finish with Jon Rahm and Sam Burns, closing out the major with a four-over total.
The Pennsylvania course's sprawling fairways and gigantic greens threw a spanner in the works for many top golfers, as juggernauts Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas notably missed Friday's cut. JJ Spaun rose above adversity, securing his first major win on Sunday with a one-under total score, evidencing just how tough the task at hand was.
Speaking about his win, Spaun explained: "I never thought I would be here holding this trophy. I've always had aspirations and dreams but a few months ago I didn't know what my ceiling was and how good I could be, but I am just proud.
"I have been resilient in my career and pushed through a lot of things and tried to be the best golfer I could be. I was happy to display that today at Oakmont.
"It was a dream weekend scenario on Father's Day, to have my two kids here is awesome and a cherry on top of a wonderful weekend."
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