World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s brutally mocked over arrest

The arrest of golf’s world number one sent the internet into a spin with social media users taking full advantage of the moment.

The arrest of Scottie Scheffler ahead of the second round of play at the PGA Championships left the golf world in disbelief.

The world number one was arrested and subsequently charged after reportedly dragging a police officer to the ground with his vehicle as he attempted to enter the course on Friday.

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News of the arrest left golf fans the world over stunned as social media users rushed to find out what had unfolded.

His name quickly sat atop trending lists as news of the incident continued to filter out across social media feeds.

NBC’s Dan Hicks wrote: “This Scottie Scheffler story outside Valhalla Golf Club with him in cuffs is as wild as it gets.”

Australian golfer Min Woo Lee wrote: “#FreeScottie.”

After he was charged and spent time inside a jail cell, Scheffler was released and took his place on the course where he played out his second round.

As the internet so often does, it didn’t take long for the moment to be turned into viral memes as social media users went to work.

Two fans at the Valhalla course acted with lightning speed as they wore shirts with Scheffler’s mugshot on the front. The world number one was captured giving them a high five as he walked past.

Fans wearing Scottie mugshot shirts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

One user uploaded video of Scheffler walking out onto the practice course before his tee time with 50 Cent’s Many Men playing over the top.

The video had racked up more than 6.6 million views at the time of writing with fans loving what was unfolding on X, formerly Twitter.

Memes flooded social media pages as Scheffler played out his second round and moved to within two shots of the leader at the halfway mark of the tournament.

Welcome to the club, Scottie. pic.twitter.com/yku7QDnIUU

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) May 17, 2024

Scottie Scheffler walking out to the first tee box at Valhalla: pic.twitter.com/jMyNkkyypc

— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) May 17, 2024

Scheffler spoke about the day following his second round coming to an end.

“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.”

Scheffler speaking after the second round. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP

Scheffler was arrested when he attempted to drive around congestion and past a police officer to enter into the course.

The police officer told him to stop before reportedly attaching himself to the driver’s side door where he remained until Scheffler brought the car to a stop.

Congestion had built up outside of the course as police dealt with congestion caused by a separate fatal accident that Scheffler was not involved in.

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 recognisance.

Scheffler’s charges could lead to a decade in prison.

Scheffler's mugshot. Photo: Twitter

Scheffler during round one. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP

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.

Gillis was hospitalised with pain, bruising and swelling in his left wrist and knee. An arraignment is set for Tuesday.

Scheffler was released and returned to the course just after 9am local time (11pm AEST).

He played out his second round, shooting -5 to take him to -9 at the halfway mark of the tournament, three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.

Scheffler’s arrest came after a deadly crash 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.

Originally published as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s brutally mocked over arrest