Scottie Scheffler Showed Class With Fans Hours After Arrest

Getty Image / Christian Petersen

Scottie Scheffler had what had to have been one of the wildest days in golf history. From an arrest to a great round at a major championship that has him firmly in contention, it was basically unprecedented.

But, like always, Scottie Scheffler continued to be a class act before, during, and after one of the scariest incidents in his life.

First, a quick primer. This morning at around 5AM local time, 69-year-0ld John Mills, who was working security for the PGA Championship this week at Valhalla Country Club, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus near the course. That slowed down traffic considerably, and players were panicking about getting into the course in time for their full routine before early-morning tee times. That’s when something that no one could’ve predicted happened.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington was an eyewitness to one of the most bizarre scenes in sports history. Here’s what he had to say.

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, 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.

Here’s video of the incident.

https://twitter.com/JeffDarlington/status/1791428598080938492

Scheffler was booked and charged with felony second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. There was even a mug shot with Scheffler in jail garb!

Not to worry. Tee times were delayed due to the traffic holdup, Scottie Scheffler made his tee time, and shot a 66 (-5) to put himself squarely in contention. As of Friday night, the charges are still pending, even if it does seem like a big miscommunication that may eventually be cleared up.

A normal human being, especially just days after the birth of their first child, would have been pretty shaken up by the whole thing. But Scheffler handled himself with pure class all day long. That included after the round, when he signed autographs and posed for selfies with a ton of fans.

https://twitter.com/MartySmithESPN/status/1791581304108294652

Scottie Scheffler has a reputation as being all class, and that’s just another example.

With Tiger Woods clearly at the tail end of his PGA Tour career, the sport desperately needs someone to fill his shoes. Scheffler may be the best player since Tiger’s prime, but a lot of people thought he was boring. It was going to be tough for him to build anything close to the fan base of a Tiger Woods or even a Phil Mickelson.

But, that may change after this incident. Scottie Scheffler is the people’s champ now.

Scottie Scheffler Showed Class With Fans Hours After Felony Arrest