The second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville got off to a truly insane start on Friday morning. The world’s No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, was arrested by Louisville police after attempting to drive around an accident scene on his way to the golf course.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington was also on the scene and witnessed the entire interaction, taking video of a handcuffed Scheffler being walked to the police car by officers.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Scheffler apparently thought he was moving around a traffic stop out front of the golf course, but was instead driving around an active crime scene after a person was struck and killed by a shuttle bus. According to Darlington, a police officer tried to get him to stop, jumped on Scheffler’s car, and then tried to drag him out of the car once stopped.
ESPN's Jeff Darlington explains what he saw as Scottie Scheffler was being detained by police while trying to enter the PGA Championship on Friday. pic.twitter.com/VDQ6ed0yJL
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was booked into Louisville jail on four counts, one felony count of second degree assault of a police officer and three misdemeanors, including reckless driving.
Scottie Scheffler has been booked into Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, charged with:
• 2nd degree assault of a police officer
• Criminal mischief
• Reckless driving
• Disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic pic.twitter.com/G79Khid0M1— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was released from jail and driven to the golf course by one of the owners of Valhalla Golf Club, arriving just under an hour before his 10:08 a.m. tee time.
ESPN captures video of Scottie Scheffler arriving at Valhalla Golf Club after being arrested earlier Friday morning trying to enter the course. pic.twitter.com/pkiczpcC7e
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 17, 2024
It appears his plan is to play his second round, and there will certainly be plenty of questions he will be asked about the incident afterwards — as will Louisville police. Scheffler released a statement prior to his round, via the PGA Tour, noting it was a misunderstanding of what he thought were security guards outside the course directing traffic and not police officers.
Scottie Scheffler's statement prior to Round 2 @PGAChampionship. pic.twitter.com/x26RFOqCIa
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 17, 2024