Climate protesters taking over the 18th hole on Sunday during the final round of the Travelers Championship didn’t sit well with one of sports media’s most prominent personalities.
On the evening edition of “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt offered an honest assessment of the wild delay at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., before Scottie Scheffler claimed his sixth PGA Tour victory of the season.
“That hole right there has seen some incredible moments and drama through the years,” Van Pelt said. “And now we have this: bedlam. Protesters running onto the green. Here come the cops. … These idiots are on the green, and now you’ve got to clean things up.”
The generally affable Van Pelt did not seem too enthused by the tournament’s shenanigans, which halted the one-stroke race between Scheffler and Tom Kim on the final green.
The protesters appeared to be holding cylinder-like canisters with smoke emminating from them before being apprehended by authorities.
The chaos ignited large-scale backlash from golf enthusiasts, including Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, who was tensely following a wager placed on Scheffler.
Following the demonstration, Kim tied Scheffler at 22-under, but the world’s top-ranked golfer won the tournament in a playoff hole.
“When something like that happens, you don’t really know what’s happening, So it can kind of rattle you a little bit,” Scheffler said of the on-course fracas. “That can be a stressful situation, and you would hate for the tournament to end on something weird happening because of a situation like that.
“Tom and I both tried to calm each other down so we could give it our best shot there on 18.”
Scheffler was coming off a forgettable performance at the U.S. Open, where he finished tied for 41st.
Bryson DeChambeau won the third major of the year after shooting a 6-under par, with Rory McIlroy narrowly losing at 5-under.
McIlroy’s decision not to speak to the media drew the ire of Van Pelt last Sunday.
“How it got away on this Sunday and the fact that he walked away without speaking about it will both be remembered,” Van Pelt said.
With the Open Championship roughly a month away, not to mention this weekend’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, security will likely be on high alert as the season continues.
