On the final day of the KLM Open, fans were left bemused as to why play in the Netherlands was delayed by two hours. However, it has now been revealed that the reason was due to Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests.
Tee times were delayed around two hours on Sunday, when XR activists decided to block the entrance into the International Golf Club. Police were called to the golf course, with the final group eventually teeing off at 3pm local time, two hours after their original tee time of 1pm.
Bezoekers van het ’groene‘ KLM Open golftoernooi, met sponsors als KLM, Tata, Schiphol en Audi, worden op weg naar de ingang herinnerd aan de gevolgen van fossiele sponsoring die de klimaat- en ecologische crisis verder aanjagen. pic.twitter.com/DZDSdT2FH2June 23, 2024
Following the incident, a tweet was released by the X/Twitter account, Extinction Rebellion Nederland, with the translated message reading: "Visitors to the 'green' KLM Open golf tournament, with sponsors such as KLM, Tata, Schiphol and Audi, are reminded on the way to the entrance of the consequences of fossil sponsorship that further fuels the climate and ecological crisis".
Along with that final tweet, there were also several posted to the site, with one reading: "The blockade at the main entrance has been lifted and our protest continues with a demonstration at a newly constructed entrance. We protest against fossil sponsorship of sports. With sponsors such as KLM, Tata, Schiphol and Audi, the KLM Open contributes to sports washing.
"A third of the surface area of all sports fields in the Netherlands consists of golf courses. A polluting, elitist sport for the happy few, sponsored by major polluters. Absolutely everything about this is unfair".
In toevoeging op eerdere berichten: het KLM Open terrein is op zondag 23 juni toegankelijk voor het publiek. De wedstrijd is vanmorgen uitgesteld geweest en wordt vanaf 10:17 met flight 9 hervat.Onze excuses voor het ongemak. pic.twitter.com/1TKuMB6hQjJune 23, 2024
One of the most historic open events on the DP World Tour calendar, KLM has sponsored the tournament for a number of years. First sponsoring the event in 1981 to 1990, it then returned in 2004 to 2019, with KLM then returning again in 2023.
It's not the first time we have seen protests at golf events. Back in 2023, Just Stop Oil targeted both The Open at Royal Liverpool and AIG Women's Open at Walton Heath. Arrests were made on both occasions, with Just Stop Oil also appearing at other sporting events like the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield, the tennis at Wimbledon and an Ashes Test at Lord's.
