After a chaotic protest on the 18th green, Scottie Scheffler wins for the Travelers

First, the back-and-out.

Then, chaos.

But finally, Scottie Scheffler. Again. Things returned to normal.

There was an incident, however, on the 18th hole at TPC River Highlands, after Scheffer won by one shot during the final round of the Travelers Championship. On the closing hole, Scheffler hit a little to the right and just short of the green, ahead of Tom Kim, the closest runner, then dropped to 10 feet. But then the play stopped. A group of fans who appeared to be protesting stormed the green.

They released something that looked powerful on the green. They were confused and led away by the guards. Scheffler, Kim and co-star Akshay Bhatia watched. Bhatia later said that he feared for his life. Playback is paused. Officials cleaned up the debris, although some stains remained. They play.

And Scheffler missed. And Kim did. Play.

There, back on 18 – where a new hole was dug after the disturbance – Scheffler shined, as he had all year. He hit his second shot to 12 feet, and Kim dropped his on the green, and with a par, the win went to Scheffler. It's his sixth victory before July 1st, not since Arnold Palmer last did it in 1962. In April, he won the Masters and the RBC Heritage. This month, he passed the Memorial. There was an incident at the PGA Championship, and a blip at last week's US Open. But now he's back to winning ways, trailing with a five-under 65 in regulation and the 22-under par he shares with Kim.

One by one, few of them all, his enemies failed.

Sungjae Im? No. Bogey on 10 put him in. Patrick Cantlay? He bogeyed 16. Bhatia? You entered 1, 9 and 16. Xander Schauffele? He shot just for par. Cameron Young? He missed his tee shot on 12 and doubled. Tony Finau? He missed his tee shot on 16 and two bogeyed. Tom Hoge? He shot a 62 at TPC River Highlands, but started the final round far behind.

Then, one by one, a few at a time, Scheffler's drives fell onto the fairway.

And his irons fell near the pits.

And his golf balls fell into the golf holes.

To be honest, things were close, and Kim, the leader of the third round, showed the game in shooting 66, but Scheffler did not give up. He bogeyed the par-5 6th after hitting his third shot to 6 feet. He birdied the par-4 7th with a 15-foot putt. He hit the par-5 13th after hitting his second shot 11 feet. He hit the par-4 14th after hitting his second shot to 3 feet, and that gave him a lead he would never relinquish. He also played the par-4 15th.

On 4 18, things got tough. Things started to get scary.

But finally, Scottie Scheffler.

Again.

Things returned to normal.

The takeaway

What's next? Seven wins? Ten? Twelve? The Open Championship? They all play Scheffler.

Leaderboard breakdown

– Tom Kim begins the final round with a one-shot lead over Akshay Bhatia and Scottie Scheffler, a two-stroke lead over Xander Schauffele and Sungjae Im, and a three-shot lead over Collin Morikawa. Kim is 18-under, Bhatia and Scheffler are 17-under, Schauffele and Im are 16-under, and Morikawa is 15-under.

– Schauffele drives the 578-yard, par-5 6th after coming home in two, and moves into a share of the lead. Schauffele and Kim are 18-under, Im, Bhatia, Scheffler and Cameron Young are 17-under, and Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau and Shane Lowry are 16-under.

– In about a minute, the birdies fly away. Young, after a birdie on the 368-yard, par-4 9th, and Scheffler, after a birdie on the 6th, briefly moved into a share of the lead, before Kim birdied the 6th to take it back on his own. The leaderboard now reads as follows: Kim is at 19-under, Scheffler, Schauffele, Young and Bhatia are 18-under, and Cantlay, Finau and Im at 17-under.

– The 202-yard, par-3 8th is impressive in the final group. Scheffler birds at 15 feet. Bhatia birds at 26 feet. Kim then three-putts from 3 feet, and falls out of the lead. Bhatia and Scheffler are 19-under, Young and Kim are 18-under, and Cantlay, Finau, Schauffele and Im are 17-under.

– Little double-bogeys on the 398-yard, par-4 12th after hitting his shot out of bounds, and he falls. The leaderboard reads as follows: Bhatia and Scheffler are 19-under, Finau and Kim are 18-under, and Cantlay and Im are 17-under.

– Bhatia bogeys the 368-yard, par-4 9th after missing the green with his second shot, then falls out of the lead. Scheffler is now independent. The leaderboard reads as follows: Scheffler is 19-under, Finau, Kim and Bhatia are 18-under, and Cantlay, Im and Tom Hoge are 17-under.

– Finau birdies the 12th on a 23-footer, and jumps into a share of the lead. Finau and Scheffler are 19-under, Kim and Bhatia are 18-under, and Hoge and Cantlay are 17-under.

– Kim, on a 9-footer, and Bhatia, on a 2-footer, birdie the 450-yard, par-4 10th, and now there is a four-player lead. Finau, Kim, Bhatia and Scheffler are 19-under, Cantlay is 18-under, and Hoge and Brian Harman are 17-under.

– Cantlay drives the 405-yard, par-4 14th after hitting his second shot 4 feet, and jumps into a share of the lead. Cantlay, Finau, Kim, Bhatia and Scheffler are 19-under, Hoge is 18-under, and Harman is 17-under.

– Finau rode the 293-yard, par-4 15th to take the lead alone – then hit his shot into the water on the 158-yard, par-3 16th. A few minutes later, Scheffler and Kim birdie the 531-yard, par-5 13th, and the leaderboard reads: Finau, Kim and Scheffler are 20-under, Hoge and Bhatia are 19-under, and Cantlay is 18-under.

– Hoge drives the 440-yard, par-4 18th after hitting his second shot 4 feet, and moves into a share of the lead. Hoge, Finau, Kim and Scheffler are 20-under, Bhatia is 19-under, and Cantlay is 18-under.

– Finau double-bogeys the 16th. The leaderboard reads as follows: Scheffler, Kim and Hoge are 20-under, Bhatia is 19-under, and Cantlay, Finau and Im are 18-under.

– Scheffler birdies the 14th after hitting his second shot 3 feet, and leads by one. Scheffler is 21-under, Kim and Hoge are 20-under, and Bhatia is 19-under.

– Scheffler and Kim birdie the 15th, and the leaderboard is unchanged. It reads as follows: Scheffler is 22-under, Kim is 21-under, and Hoge is 20-under.

– On the 18th, Scheffler lands just short of the green with his second shot, while Kim, after a club twirl, drops the iron to 10 feet. Then things get chaotic. First, a group of fans attack the green, leaving behind debris. Then, Scheffler comes up just short of a 26-footer for birdie. Then Kim dropped a birdie putt. They will go to a playoff, starting with the 18th hole, which will have a new hole location after the interruption.

– On the first playoff hole, Scheffler hits 12 feet on his second shot, then Kim hits the green. Scheffler pars, and wins.

The last word

“It's very special. It's been a great season. I was lucky enough to come away with a win, it was a lot of fun. Tom played his heart out today. He is a great player, a great champion. It was fun to fight him today.” – Scottie Scheffler on CBS

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].