World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler breaks silence after being arrested at PGA Championships
Golf’s world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has broken his silence after he was arrested and charged on day two of the PGA Championships.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has broken his silence after being arrested and charged by police ahead of the second round of the PGA Championships.
Scheffler was detained by Louisville Metro police after he drove onto curbing to try and get around a fatal accident that had taken place outside the entrance of the golf course.
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The 27-year-old attempted to move around the congestion when he is said to have disobeyed a police officer’s orders.
The incident unfolded at around 5.45am on Friday (7.45pm AEST).
Scheffler was detained with the world No.1’s mugshot showing he was officially booked by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections at 7.28am on Friday.
He was charged with felony assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic and released on his own recognizance.
A police report on the incident obtained by ESPN said arresting officer Bryan Gillis says Scheffler disobeyed orders to stop his car and accelerated, dragging the officer to the ground.
Scheffler was released and returned to the course just after 9am local time (11pm AEST) where he issued a statement on the incident.
“This morning I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” Scheffler began. “It was a very chaotic situation, understandably considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier and there was a big misunderstand of what I thought I was being asked to do”.
“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.
“I am 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 passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything into perspective.”
Scheffler played out his second round where he shot a five-under 66 to take him to nine-under at the halfway mark of the tournament, three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.
He spoke further about his day following the completion of his second round.
“My head is still kind of spinning, I can’t really explain what happened this morning,” he said to reporters.
“I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell, that was a first for me. That was part of my warm up I was just sitting there waiting so I started going through my warm up because I felt like there was a chance I may still be able to come out here and play.
“Started going through my routine and trying to get my heart rate down as much as I could, but like I said I still feel like my heads spinning a little bit.
“But I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.
“The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down. I was sitting there waiting to kind of go in and I asked him, I was like, ‘Hey, excuse me, can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down’.
“I was never angry. I was just in shock, and I think my body was just -- I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me. He came out and we had a nice chat and then the officers inside the jail were tremendous.
“A couple of them made some jokes I think when they figured out who I was and what happened and how I ended up there.
“This one older officer looked at me as I was doing my fingerprints or whatever, and he looks at me and he goes, ‘So do you want the full experience today?’ I kind of looked at him, and I was like, I don’t know how to answer that. He’s like, ‘Come on, man, you want a sandwich?’
“I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll take a sandwich’. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I mean, they were really kind. I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was.”
‘Please help me’
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington expanded on the Scheffler incident on the coverage shortly after it all unfolded.
“He attempted to go into the left median to enter the course. When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, Scheffler then travelled another 10 yards (9 metres) before stopping the car.
“The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer then pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs”.
It’s been reported officers were banging on the window of his car.
“Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs,” said Darlington.
“(He) looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me.’ He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation.
“The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament nor of course that he is the number one player in the world.”
Up to 10 years’ jail
Scheffler’s arrest came after a deadly carsh near the Valhalla Golf Club had already delayed the start of the second round.
According to Golf Digest senior writer Joel Beal, “a pedestrian was hit and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla”, leading the police putting in traffic controls.
Local lawyer Steve Romines was hired on Scheffler’s behalf and told reporters the confusion came as the officer directing traffic didn’t appear to be part of the tournament traffic detail “and that’s where the miscommunication arose”.
He also revealed the assault charge was a felony, which can come with a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The PGA Tournament released a statement regarding the man who lost his life before the event.
“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club,” the statement read.
“This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
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