Golfer was ‘fearful for his life’ at the Travelers Championship after an incident on the PGA Tour

PGA Tour star Akshay Bhatia shared his thoughts on the protesters’ attack on the 18th green at TPC River Highlands on Sunday.

After finishing the tournament in a tied fifth place, the Los Angeles native explained what was going through his mind as he saw several police officers chasing and arresting the protesters. The 22-year-old admitted he was concerned for his safety amid the chaos, even though security forces were able to deescalate the situation soon after.

“I was scared for my life,” Bhatia said, according to ESPN. “I didn’t even really know what was happening. … But luckily the police were there and protected us, because this is, you know, just weird.”

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Activist group Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for the disruption of the Travelers Championship. The group also believed that the incident the night before, in which two people were injured by a lightning strike near the course, was due to climate change, and wanted to raise awareness of the dire situation surrounding the rising temperatures.

“This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions,” began Extinction Rebellion’s statement to The Associated Press. “Golf, more than other events, is heavily reliant on good weather, so golf fans should understand better than most that strong, immediate climate action is needed.”

Tom Kim, who lost to Scottie Scheffler in a playoff, said the protest helped him calm his nerves. “For a moment, it took the meaning out of the putt,” Kim said of what went through his mind when he saw the protesters before his putt.

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“Because for the last 17 1/2 holes, all you think about is golf, and when that happens, you go into a state of complete despair – like you’re almost not playing golf at all. For a moment, I thought it was a dream.”

Scheffler, for his part, praised the officers and reported on his conversation with Kim when the officers arrested the demonstrators. “From my point of view, they got the matter done pretty damn quickly and we are very grateful for that,” the world number one said afterwards.

“When something like this happens, you don’t really know what’s going on, so it can be a bit unsettling. It can be a stressful situation, and you would hate for the tournament to end with a strange incident because of a situation like this.