He had to survive a playoff and a wave of protesters on the 18th green at TPC River Highlands, but Scottie Scheffler put his brutal week at Pinehurst No. 2 behind him in the best way possible.
Scheffler defeated Tom Kim in a one-hole playoff on Sunday afternoon to win the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. He shot 66 in the final round, dropping him to 22 under par for the week. He then beat Kim with a short par putt in the playoff to officially secure the win.
Scheffler is now the first player in PGA Tour history to win six games in a single season before July since Arnold Palmer did so in 1962.
Protesters storm the 18th green
Before the playoff even began, protesters stormed the 18th green and extremely chaotic scenes ensued.
At least five people ran around the 18th green and onto the green in protest as the last group walked up. The protesters, who later turned out to be climate activists called Extinction Rebellion NYC protesting the “global threat of climate change,” began spraying smoke and gunpowder everywhere.
No damage was done to the course and security quickly arrested and removed the group. However, red and white powder dust remained on the putting surface when Scheffler and Kim completed the hole.
“I mean, I was scared for my life,” said Akshay Bhatia, who played in the final group with Scheffler and Kim. “I didn’t even know what was happening. All of a sudden, four, five people came running onto the green… I was in shock and my heart rate was racing. It slowed down and then when that happened, I was just freaking out. I was just trying to get to where everyone was. It was hard to do that, I think it was just weird.”
Scheffler entered Sunday’s match one stroke behind Kim, who survived a long rain break on Saturday to take the lead after 54 holes with a score of 5 under par and 65.
Scheffler started the final round slowly and was tied with four players on the back nine, but was able to pull away from everyone on the home stretch. Scheffler managed three birdies in a row and just missed an eagle on the short par 4 15th hole, putting him at the top of the field.
Kim had many chances to keep up with Scheffler in the lead over the last three holes, but he stumbled several times while putting – including on the 16th green when he missed a great birdie putt and immediately fell over in frustration. Kim also sent his birdie putt wide of the hole on the 17th, allowing Scheffler to go into the final hole one stroke ahead after a perfect par of his own.
But finally, Kim had his moment. After Scheffler’s approach shot on the 18th hole landed on the edge of the green, Kim nearly sank his shot from the middle of the fairway, allowing him a final birdie that ultimately forced a playoff.
After the interruption, Kim and Scheffler replayed the 18th hole as planned for the playoff, but the tournament organizers moved the trophy to a new location on the green due to the protest.
Although Kim made it exciting, Scheffler made the playoff quick. He landed his approach shot just a few feet from the hole, while Kim, who hit a great drive, landed his second shot in the greenside bunker. He failed to get the ball up and down and make par. That decided the match for Scheffler, who easily won with his par.
The victory is just the latest in a truly dominant season for the world’s top-ranked golfer. He has now won 12 times on the PGA Tour in his career, half of them in 2024. He has not missed the cut anywhere since 2022 and has finished outside the top 10 just twice in 15 starts this season.
“This is very special. It’s been a great season, I’ve been fortunate to get some wins and it’s been a lot of fun,” Scheffler said on CBS while holding his newborn son, Bennett. “Tom, Tom gave it his all today. He’s a great player, a great champion. It was fun to compete against him today.”
Scheffler’s victory this week came after an uncharacteristic stumble at last week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Scheffler finished the third major of the season at 8-over-par and T41, his worst finish since October 2022.
Kim has won three times in his career, most recently last year at the Shriners Children’s Open. His second-place finish on Sunday was his best finish this season and his second top-10 finish in his last four starts.
Tom Hoge, who matched his career-low 62 on Sunday, finished third, while Sungjae Im finished 20 under par for the week. Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Justin Thomas and Akshay Bhatia tied for fifth at 18 under par.
Scheffler is now expected to take a break until next month’s British Open, which begins on July 18 at Royal Troon.
