World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler faces charges including assault after he was arrested near the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club early Friday morning before the second round of the PGA Championship and booked into a Louisville jail.
Scheffler, 27, was booked shortly before 7:30 a.m. local time, according to online records published by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections, and is being charged with the following:
Second degree assault on a police officer (a felony)
Third degree criminal mischief
Reckless driving
Disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington witnessed the arrest, reporting that ‘a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to (Scheffler’s) attempt to drive past a police officer’ toward the golf course. The second round of play at Valhalla had been delayed after a pedestrian was struck and killed near the entrance to the golf course, resulting in significant police activity in the area. The golf course is the site of this week’s 2024 PGA Championship.
Scheffler was released without bail around 8:40 a.m. ET, Louisville Metro Department of Corrections Major Jason Logsdon told ESPN. He was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m.
Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion, shot a 4-under-par 67 in Thursday’s opening round and is tied for 12th.
What led to Scottie Scheffler’s arrest?
Darlington posted a video clip on social media of Scheffler being escorted by police while in handcuffs ahead of the second round of play, and described the events as he witnessed them on social media and on ESPN. The video shows police detaining Scheffler and an officer telling Darlington that the golfer is going to jail. Darlington added that Scheffler, while in handcuffs, looked toward to the reporter and said: ‘Please help me.’
‘They told him to stop,’ Darlington said in an appearance on ESPN. ‘When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle. Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.’
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
