World number one Scottie Scheffler says his arrest before the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club was a misunderstanding.
Scottie Scheffler says his arrest was ‘a big misunderstanding’ and he ‘never intended’ to disregard any of the instructions that led to him being frog-marched and placed into the back of a police vehicle.
The world number one was put in handcuffs early on Friday morning after reportedly trying to drive round a traffic stop as he made his way to Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship.
Earlier on 17 May a PGA of America vendor was struck and killed by a shuttle bus at 5am ET and it led to an 80-minute delay.
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Scheffler was not involved in that incident but was attempting to avoid the scene.
When he tried to enter the course ‘near a side median’, a traffic cop reportedly started yelling obscenities at him and even ‘attached himself’ to Scheffler’s vehicle, according to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington.
The golfer was reportedly hauled out of his vehicle.
He even reportedly asked a journalist who witnessed the shocking incident: “Please help me”.
A mugshot of Scheffler was then published on the official website for the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections.
Scheffler was booked in at 7.28am and released at 8.40am.
According to ESPN, the owner of Valhalla Golf Club rushed Scheffler back to the course for his 10.08am tee time with Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman.
Scheffler arrived and declined to comment about the situation to reporters eagerly awaiting his arrival.
He did, however, upload a statement to his Instagram account.
Scheffler described the situation as ‘chaotic’ and claimed it was all a big understanding.
“I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on the golf today,” he wrote.
See Scheffler’s full statement here:
Scottie Scheffler’s statement
Scottie Scheffler’s statement
Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines later spoke to a scrum of reporters to describe what happened from the golfer’s perspective.
Romines told WLKY’s Madison Elliot that Scheffler was under the impression that he was able to pass through the traffic with a credential.
Scheffler’s lawyer said he was unaware of the incident earlier in the morning and that he will ‘cooperate fully’.
Asked what happens from here, his attorney said they will ‘litigate the case’ and ‘deal with the court system as it comes’.
Watch:
Just spoke with Steve Romines, lawyer for Scottie Scheffler @WLKY pic.twitter.com/Ui1S4q4lS7
— Madison Elliott (@MadisonWLKY) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer along with:
Third-degree criminal mischief
Reckless driving
Disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic
Scheffler is chasing is his third successive victory after winning the 2024 Masters and RBC Heritage in April.
He took a three-week break from the game as his wife Meredith gave birth to their first child.
Scheffler’s son Bennett was born on 8 May.
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