Scottie Scheffler has lifted the lid and explained what happened during his dramatic arrest before the second round of the PGA Championship in the early hours of Friday morning. The World No.1 was arrested on his way to the course at Valhalla, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was taken to jail for not following police orders after a pedestrian fatality.
Louisville Metro Police Department said Scheffler was booked on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer after his vehicle dragged an officer to the ground and injured him. Scheffler was also hit with charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
The American released a statement saying the incident was a “big misunderstanding”, and later said he was shocked and confused over the arrest. After being released from jail he went on to shoot a five-under par round of 67 amid cheers and support from the galleries.
It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding. I can’t get into what transpired, outside of my heart goes out to the family,” Scheffler said after his round, offering his sympathy to the family of a tournament vendor John Mills – the pedestrian who had died in the accident. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning.”
Police said Mills had been struck by a bus while crossing the road in a lane that was dedicated to tournament traffic.
He was pronounced dead at the scene about 5:09am.
Scheffler, who was originally slated to start his second round at 8:48am, drove past a police officer around 6am in his SUV with markings on the door indicating it was a PGA Championship vehicle. According to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, the officer screamed at Scheffler to stop and then grabbed onto the car until the golfer stopped about 10 yards later.
The officer, identified in the arrest report as Detective Gillis, was dragged “to the ground” and suffered “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist” after the car “accelerated forward.” The arrest sheet said the officer was dressed in a high visibility reflective jacket when he stopped Scheffler’s car to give instructions. Detective Gillis was taken to hospital for his injuries.