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Scottie Scheffler was slated to kick off his second round at the PGA Championship at 10:08 on Friday morning, but things took a wild turn a few hours before his tee time after he was handcuffed by police who detained him outside of Valhalla Golf Club during a bizarre incident.
On Thursday, Scottie Scheffler kicked off the PGA Championship with a bang by eagling the first hole before cooling down a bit to finish in a tie for 12th at -4 under (five strokes behind leader Xander Schauffele). The No. 1 golfer in the world headed into the tournament as the heavy favorite thanks to his stellar play in recent months, but there are now questions about whether or not he’ll even be able to finish based on what transpired as the sun was rising on Friday.
According to The Lexington Herald-Leader, PGA Championship officials decided to delay the start of the second round after someone was struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside of Valhalla Golf Club around 5 A.M., which led to a flood of police officers arriving in the area to secure the scene.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington was in the vicinity when things took a wild turn after Scheffler reportedly attempted to break the flow of traffic. He allegedly ignored the directions of a police officer who subsequently leaped onto his car and dragged him out of the vehicle before handcuffing him and transporting him away from the scene.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Darlington said Scheffler drove approximately 10 yards with the cop clinging to his car before stopping and that the “stunned” golfer told him “Please help me” as he was being led away in cuffs.
According to WAVE, Scheffler has been charged with four crimes in connection to what unfolded: second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
He was put in an orange jumpsuit and posed for a mug shot after arriving at a local jail.
Louisville Metro Police Department
The PGA Championship has not issued a statement addressing the matter as of this writing.
Scheffler’s ability to participate in the second round of the tournament is still up in the air, but he has reportedly been released from jail and is heading back to the course. There is a chance he could be disqualified if he misses his rescheduled tee time, there is a USGA exemption concerning “exceptional circumstances” that certainly applies to this situation.