The 2026 KLM Open had all the ingredients for a clean finish. Eugenio Chacarra’s birdie on the 18th hole gave him a one-shot victory in the $2.75 tournament. But it was not his winning putt that stuck in the picture. Instead, the closing moments were marked by flares and chanting, with a line of security staff separating protesters from the green.

Broadcast footage captured the moment directly. As Oliver Lindell played his approach, smoke rose from the pond—set off by Extinction Rebellion activists, as per reports. But Lindell did not flinch and completed his shot, and the game kept going.

“While we respect everyone’s right to protest, our priority is ensuring a safe and secure environment for all players, spectators, staff and volunteers,” a Tour spokesperson told Telegraph Sport. “The protest on the 18th hole today did not disrupt play, and the tournament concluded as normal.”

But the issue persists. To prevent future disruptions, DPWT volunteers formed a human barrier on the 18th.

Chacarra played one group behind. He stepped to the 18th at -10, level with Lindell. He made the birdie. Final score -11, one shot clear. His second DP World Tour title moved him to sixth in the Race to Dubai standings. The top 10 finishers without PGA Tour status earn cards for next season.

This was not XR’s first visit to the KLM Open. In 2024, activists blocked the main entrance to The International on the final morning, forcing police on-site and pushing the final group’s tee time back by two hours. This year, they were inside the course, in the pond fronting the 18th, setting off flares as leaders played through.

Golf has now hosted five major-tournament protests in three years.

At The Open Championship in 2023, Just Stop Oil activists ran onto the 17th green at Royal Liverpool and threw orange powder on the putting surface. A year later, at the Travelers Championship, six Extinction Rebellion protesters stormed the 18th green at TPC River Highlands mid-round. Scheffler, Tom Kim, and Akshay Bhatia were standing there, ready to putt. Colored smoke and powder went down on the green. The police moved in and arrested them.

The event in Amsterdam on Sunday proceeded without a stoppage. But Extinction Rebellion has now shown up at the KLM Open for two years. Well, this time there was no delay, but the issue remains.

However, the reasons activists keep returning to golf run deeper than just one tournament.

Why does golf attract climate protests?

Water usage is the primary activist concern. Environmental groups say this is unreasonable, especially when nearby communities are running short. For activists, that is reason enough to show up.

Tournament conditioning requires fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides—runoff, critics say, contaminates rivers and groundwater. The golf industry disagrees and recommends filtration systems and sustainability programs, but the argument keeps coming back.

Then there’s the land issue. One 18-hole course can cover hundreds of acres. Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil feel forests and wetlands are being cleared for a sport most people never play.

Golf appears in XR materials alongside private jets—not as the worst offender, but as a visible, resource-heavy, indefensible target. So, when the argument is about who gets to use what, golf is an easy target.