Scottie Scheffler – file photo – image PGA of America
Amid chaotic scenes, Scottie Scheffler continued his stunning 2024 PGA Tour season by recording his 6th win of the year when defeating his good friend Tom Kim in a playoff for the Travelers Championship near Hartford in Connecticut.
The pair were tied at 22 under after Kim had holed a ten-footer for birdie at the 72nd hole to draw level with the world number one but after finding the greenside bunker at the first extra hole, Kim was unable to get up and down from a plugged lie and the title and yet another US$3.6 million was Scheffler’s.
But the final stages of the US$20 million event were not without even more drama. As the final trio of Scheffler, Kim and Akshay Bhatia arrived at the 18th green, several climate change protesters burst from the crowd and dispersed a dye-like substance onto the green before being nailed by police and others.
They were surreal scenes but Scheffler and Kim were able to put aside any concerns and return to the 18th tee to commence the playoff.
For Scheffler it would be his 12th PGA Tour title and his PGA Tour earnings in 2024 are now US$27,696,000 and career earnings close to US$70 million.
Scheffler explained his thoughts on the protesters’ involvement at the 72nd hole.
“Fortunately for Tom and me, we were both out there, we’re great friends. So we were able to sit there and kind of relax each other before, because you don’t really know what’s going on, you don’t really understand the situation, you don’t really — there’s people running around everywhere and you don’t really know what’s going to happen.
“So it was a bit confusing. Fortunately, the police did a great job of getting everything in order very quickly. I don’t know how quick it was, but it seemed really fast to us. So we’re very thankful for them.”
Scheffler lavished praise on his friend and playoff opponent, Kim.
“We play a lot of golf at home and play a lot of golf out here too. He’s one of my good buddies. It’s always fun competing against your friends, but it’s also really tough. I feel for him there in the playoff, but I told him he’s a great player and a great champion and I’m proud of him and the putt on 18 was pretty sweet and I’m sure that’s something that he’ll remember for a long time.”
Scheffler has two more events before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin, namely the Open Championship and the Olympics.
Kim earns US$2.16 million for his runner-up finish and continues his remarkable start to his PGA Tour career.
The 22-year-old South Korean spent time in Melbourne in several of his formative golfing years and led the New Zealand Open in Queenstown as a 17-year-old in 2020 before finishing 4th and, eventually heading for the US in 2022.
Kim earns US$2.1 million for his runner-up finish and his career PGA Tour winnings are already US$16.5 million.
The Australians in the field were led by Adam Scott 39th, Jason Day 44th and Cam Davis 48th.
