Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top ranked golfer, was detained by police Friday morning prior to the start of Round 2 of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
Scottie Scheffler’s mugshot from Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections. pic.twitter.com/bcJn54Nu5x
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2024
Scheffler, a two-time winner of the Masters, was later released by Louisville Metro police, WAVE-TV reported, citing ESPN.
The 27-year-old Scheffler — a new father — is facing charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
“World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington wrote in a post on X.
“The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car,” Darlington elaborated.
“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car,” Darlington wrote.
Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car,…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Are you a fan of Scottie Scheffler?
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
This Scottie Scheffler story outside Valhalla Golf Club with him in cuffs is as wild as it gets.
— Dan Hicks (@DanHicksNBC) May 17, 2024
“This Scottie Scheffler story outside Valhalla Golf Club with him in cuffs is as wild as it gets,” NBC’s Dan Hicks posted on X.
ESPN reported that Scheffler asked Darlington for help, but the police officer detaining Scheffler told him to get back.
“You need to get out of the way,” the officer told Darlington. “There’s nothing you can do. Scottie Scheffler is going to jail.”
What the heck is going on right now? Scottie Scheffler arrested trying to get into Valhalla?! pic.twitter.com/a3coox510t
— sam stone (@sam_rock_stone) May 17, 2024
The traffic snarl outside of Valhalla Golf Club was caused by a fatal accident in which a pedestrian was struck and killed by a shuttle bus.
The shuttle bus accident took place at about 5 a.m. The incident with Scheffler took place at about 6:30 a.m.
Full details on Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, excellent reporting by @JeffDarlington.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) May 17, 2024
The incident caused a delay in the start of the second round from 7:15 a.m. to 8:35 a.m.
Scheffler had won four of his past five starts. He entered the second round five strokes off the lead.
