Scottie Scheffler fought back tears as he held his newborn baby in an emotional interview with Amanda Balionis after winning the Travelers Championship.
The current world No. 1 won on a dramatic final day of the PGA Tour’s final non-cut signature event in Connecticut, where anti-climate change protesters stormed the 18th green as he and fellow leader Tom Kim prepared to take of their last putts.
After the powder-throwing intruders were arrested and taken off the course – and the green cleared by groundskeepers – Kim had to cancel a playoff round before Scheffler came out on top to claim his sixth PGA Tour victory of the year.
After his latest triumph, he gave a heartwarming interview with CBS reporter Balionis, who quizzed him about his new role as a father as he held his one-month-old son, Bennett, in his arms.
“I would say afternoons when I get home look a little different,” Scheffler said. “We’re watching a lot less TV, it’s more sitting and trying to figure out what’s going on with our little ones.”
Scottie Scheffler fought back tears as he held his newborn baby in an emotional interview with Amanda Balionis
“But it’s been a lot of fun, I’m lucky to be surrounded by great friends here.”
Then he said, choking up, “And it’s great.”
Scheffler and his wife Meredith welcomed their first child together on the eve of last month’s PGA Championship.
It’s been a whirlwind six weeks since becoming a father for the two-time Masters champion, who was sensationally arrested as he headed to Valhalla Golf Club for the second day of the PGA Championship.
All four criminal charges against Scheffler — who was accused of ignoring police instructions and dragging an officer to the ground after speeding his car — were eventually dropped after a stunning saga in Kentucky.
The drama continues to follow him a month after his arrest in Valhalla, with Extinction Rebellion protesters storming the course just before his crucial final putt on the 18th of the Travelers Championship.
The fairway invaders, who appeared to wear climate change messages on their T-shirts, threw red, white and yellow powder onto the golf course, with one even kicking through a bunker on the green side.
Scheffler won the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship on a dramatic final day in Connecticut
The world number 1 welcomed his first child, Bennett, with his wife Meredith (left) last month.
The group of at least five were quickly arrested by police on the spot and taken away. However, the devastation they left in their wake delayed the exciting end to the tournament.
Tour officials were called to the green where groundskeepers waited with leaf blowers ready to spring into action.
Some intruders wore T-shirts with the message ‘No Golf On A Dead Planet’ on the front.
Police handcuffed at least five people, according to CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz.
After they were escorted off the course, Scheffler left a potential 7-yard clincher from the edge on the right side of the cup and then tapped in for par.
If the delay increased Kim’s nerves, he didn’t show it. After the greenside drama, the 22-year-old calmly stepped up and sank his birdie putt to tie the best golfer in the world and force a play-off.
However, Scheffler ultimately held his nerve to win the playoff and clinch another championship.
Protesters stormed the 18th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship
“It was definitely a little weird,” Scheffler said of the incident after hoisting the trophy. ‘I saw one person out of the corner of my eye and then I saw about five police officers sprinting around.
“From my point of view, they sorted it out pretty quickly, and we were very grateful for that.
“When something like that happens you don’t really know what’s happening so it can kind of confuse you just because there are people running around the green and there are police officers running around the green and you don’t know if they’re peaceful, you don’t know what they’re doing, you have no idea what’s going on, so it can be a bit stressful.”