During the final hole of regulation at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship on Sunday, six protesters ran onto the course in protest of climate change. And while police quickly handled the incident, one golfer admits that he was afraid for his life for a brief time.
The protesters ran onto the green from all directions and waved smoke bombs that left red, white, and blue residue on the grass. Some of the protesters were also wearing shirts that read “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” in black lettering on the front.
It was a pretty jarring distraction that ultimately delayed the tournament by about five minutes, and PGA Tour star Akshay Bhatia admits that he was quite afraid before he realized what was going on.
“I was scared for my life,” Bhatia said after the tournament on Sunday according to ESPN. “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.”
Ultimately, the tournament did resume and Bhatia was able to finish in a tie for fifth, but he was clearly quite startled by the protesters suddenly rushing onto the green, and it’s tough to blame him.
[ESPN]
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