CNN —
Protesters ran onto the 18th green in the final round of the PGA’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, Sunday, leaving a powdery substance on the putting surface and delaying play for several minutes.
Video from broadcaster CBS showed several of the five demonstrators wearing shirts reading: “No golf on a dead planet.”
Police quickly removed the protesters, allowing the final group, including leaders Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler to finish the hole in a tie and move to a playoff.
The pair teed off on the 18th again and Scheffler went on to win.
He said he and Kim helped to steady each other as the police worked quickly.
“You don’t really know what is going on, you don’t really understand the situation,” Scheffler said in a post-match interview with CBS Sports. “There’s people running around everywhere and you don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
He credited the police with doing a great job to handcuff and remove the protesters.
Kim told reporters it was like a dream but the moment temporarily took his mind off the importance of making his putt because he was worried about people getting hurt.
In a social media video, officers can be seen wrestling three protesters on the ground. Another protester is tackled by an officer and drops a bag they were holding. Fans can be heard booing and yelling obscenities at the protesters.
At the players’ news conference, Scheffler said the initial chaos with people running around was a little rattling.
“You don’t know if they’re peaceful, you don’t know what they’re doing, you have no idea what’s going on, so it can be a bit stressful,” he told reporters.
A PGA Tour senior spokesperson told CNN the protesters were “immediately arrested.”
“The powder on the green was removed, resulting in no damage to the 18th green,” Joel Schuchmann said. “Our thanks to the Cromwell Police Department for their quick and decisive action.”
CNN has reached out to law enforcement for more information.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
