A group of climate activists briefly disrupted the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut on Sunday, storming the green at the 18th hole and setting off smoke canisters.
Video of the incident shared across social media shows several demonstrators sprinting onto the green as Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim, and Akshay Bhatia finished their rounds. The protesters, many of whom wore shirts declaring “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” sprayed red and white smoke and threw colored powder on the grass.
Law enforcement responded immediately, tackling the activists to the ground and escorting them away as chants of “USA! USA!” arose from the crowd. All told, the disruption delayed the PGA tournament by less than five minutes.
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Based on the logos on the protesters’ shirts, as well as statements made after the fact, the demonstration was organized by radical environmentalist group “Extinction Rebellion,” which has pulled off similar stunts in the past. These previous incidents have included disruptions at an Easter Vigil at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City this spring and the US Open Tennis Championships last year.
A statement from the group’s New York City chapter took credit for the incident and provided a lengthy list of demands and justifications, claiming that two PGA fans injured in a lightning strike near the golf course had fallen victim to “ increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions.”
2/5 Just yesterday, at least two fans were injured due to a lightning strike at the Travelers Championship. This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions. https://t.co/rLwnLjhA9l
— Extinction Rebellion NYC 🌎 (@XR_NYC) June 23, 2024
“Carbon capture, electric cars, and recycling will not avert the climate calamities we’re seeing more and more often,” the group wrote. “We all know that such measures fall far short of what’s needed. Government and corporate leaders lack the political will to address the most pressing issue of our time.”
The statement continued: “Golf is an environmental disaster–reckless water use, carbon-intensive fertilizers, woodland destruction–but before we can delve into that issue, we must agree on the fundamental reality of climate catastrophe that’s taking place every moment of every day, all around us.”
4/5 Golf is an environmental disaster–reckless water use, carbon-intensive fertilizers, woodland destruction–but before we can delve into that issue, we must agree on the fundamental reality of climate catastrophe that’s taking place every moment of every day, all around us.
— Extinction Rebellion NYC 🌎 (@XR_NYC) June 23, 2024
Related: Man Guns Down Two Environmentalist Protestors Blocking a Highway in Panama
Cromwell police said that each of the arrested activists has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree criminal trespass, and breach of peace. All have been released on a $5,000 bond and are scheduled to return to court on July 1.
The PGA Tour said that the smoke canisters and powder were removed without damage to the golf course, and organizers thanked the police for their “quick and decisive action.”
Scottie Scheffler, who went on to win the tournament, was “grateful” to law enforcement and said that he and fellow golfer Tom Kim “both tried to calm each other down so we could give it our best shot there on 18.”
The disruption at the PGA Championship is the latest in a growing series of international incidents caused by Extinction Rebellion, UK-based “Just Stop Oil,” and other related groups. Last week, climate activists in the United Kingdom vandalized Stonehenge with orange paint, and a separate group spraypainted multiple private jets at an airport north of London.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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