Golfer released after arrest
Early Friday morning, Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1 player, was arrested after an altercation with a police officer outside Valhalla Golf Club, where the PGA Championship is taking place. It's important to note that Scheffler was not connected to a separate traffic incident outside Valhalla that tragically resulted in a pedestrian fatality.
Scheffler faces several charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief in the third degree, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. These charges consist of three misdemeanors and one felony, specifically second-degree assault of a police officer.
Scheffler was released from custody at 8:40 a.m. ET. He arrived back at Valhalla at 9:12 a.m. ET and headed to the practice area. He is set to tee off at 10:08 a.m. ET.
The incident was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Darlington.
"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," Darlington wrote 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. 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 indicated that Scheffler drove about "10 to 20 yards" after being told to stop. Darlington reported that Scheffler tried to explain that he did not know the man telling him to stop was a police officer. Darlington said that Scheffler did not raise his voice during the confrontation.
According to Darlington, the situation escalated rapidly, and Scheffler was loaded into a police vehicle. Darlington reported that a police officer told him, "There's nothing you can do, he's going to jail." Darlington later reported that an officer asked him to identify Scheffler.
Darlington reported on the incident on "SportsCenter" shortly before 7 a.m.
Steve Romines, an attorney representing Scheffler, told reporters that Scheffler held out his media credential and was entering the golf course as players had been instructed to.
"Apparently, there had been a traffic accident, or maybe even a fatality down the road, and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that," Romines said. "I think the officer that was directing traffic was maybe not part of the event traffic detail and so that's where the miscommunication arose and that's why we're here."
"There are eyewitnesses that he did nothing wrong,"
Scheffler was later booked at 7:28 a.m.
The start of the second round of the PGA Championship was delayed by 80 minutes due to an accident outside Valhalla Golf Club that involved a pedestrian fatality, according to Louisville police. In the rainy predawn hours, traffic around Valhalla was at a standstill. Players were permitted to enter the course to prepare for the tournament.
Scheffler was slated to tee off at 8:48 a.m.
The PGA of America announced that the tournament will resume at 8:35 a.m., a delay of an hour and 20 minutes.