Scottie Scheffler was arrested by his vehicle Friday morning in Louisville after a chaotic incident involving Scheffler attempting to drive into Valhalla Golf Club to play the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. The world's No. 1 golfer was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer.
Scheffler was detained by police at 6 a.m. ET, booked by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections around 7:30 a.m., and released on his own recognizance at 8:40 a.m. Arriving at Valhalla about a half hour later, he changed, ate breakfast and eventually visited the driving range about 30 minutes before his rescheduled 10:08 a.m. ET tee time.
A fatal accident involving a tournament worker being hit by a shuttle bus occurred outside the venue before Scheffler arrived; that slowed traffic near the entrance to the golf course and delayed the second round of the PGA Championship 1 hour and 20 minutes. Scheffler -- in an officially marked PGA Championship vehicle -- was driving toward the golf course when a police officer, Det. Bryan Gillis, stopped his car.
Scheffler tried to enter the property after a confusing and chaotic exchange, continuing to drive at a slow pace past the officer and towards the golf course, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, who was on the scene. The officer "attempted to attach himself to Scheffler's car," per Darlington, at which point Scheffler stopped at the entrance and began following the officer's instructions to exit the vehicle. As he was complying, Scheffler was reportedly pulled out of the vehicle, "shoved" against it, handcuffed and detained.
According to the arrest report, the road was closed in both directions following the fatal accident when Scheffler "refused to comply" with Det. Gillis' instructions, leading Scheffler to continue move his vehicle forward, allegedly dragging the officer to the ground. Det. Gllis received medical treatment after "suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee," and his uniform pants, valued at approximately $80, were "damaged beyond repair."
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
As Darlington attempted to help clarify the situation and obtain information from police, he was rebuffed. "Right now, he's going to jail," another officer told Darlington. "He's going to jail, and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Period." It appeared as if the officer believed Darlington to be a member of Scheffler's team before he revealed that he's a journalist. Darlington also shared that Scheffler asked him whether there was anything he could do to help and that the officer did not know Scheffler was a professional golfer.
Scheffler addressed the incident in a statement Friday morning before his round.
"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
"Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective."
He also discussed the arrest and how it affected his second round after carding a 5-under 66 to push himself near the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard following the morning wave.
"It was just a huge misunderstanding this morning. That will get resolved fairly quickly," said Scheffler, explaining that he never considered not playing his second round. "I came here for a golf tournament. … My main focus after getting arrested was wondering if I could come back out here and play. Fortunately, I was able to do that. It was nice to put together a solid round today, for sure."
Scheffler's attorney in Louisville, Steve Romines, shared his perspective in a statement.
"In the early hours of the morning, in advance of his tee time, Scottie was going to the course to begin his pre round preparation. Due to the combination of event traffic and a traffic fatality in the area, it was a very chaotic situation. He was proceeding as directed by another traffic officer and driving a marked player's vehicle with credentials visible. In the confusion, Scottie is alleged to have disregarded a different officer's traffic signals resulting in these charges. Multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed that he did not do anything wrong but was simply proceeding as directed. He stopped immediately upon being directed to and never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle. We will litigate this matter as needed."
The PGA of America, which hosts the PGA Championship, released a statement later Friday.
"Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who lost his life in a tragic accident early this morning while reporting to work. As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place. While the legal process plays out, questions should to be directed to Scheffler's attorney or local authorities."
