World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested by Louisville Metro Police on Friday morning after attempting to drive into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club, the site of this week's PGA Championship. The incident occurred amidst a chaotic situation following a fatal accident outside the course, where a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus around 5 a.m. ET.
Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. The assault charge is a felony, while the others are misdemeanors. Major Jason Logsdon of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections confirmed that Scheffler was released at 8:40 a.m. ET Friday without bail, arriving at Valhalla less than an hour before his scheduled tee time at 10:08 a.m. ET.
According to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, Scheffler was attempting to drive around the crash scene on a median when a police officer instructed him to stop. However, Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance. At one point, an officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler's car before the golfer eventually stopped as he turned into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club.
After a brief exchange, the officer grabbed Scheffler's arm, pulling him out of the vehicle and pushing him against the car before placing him in handcuffs. Darlington, who was standing nearby, recounted Scheffler turning to him and asking, "Can you help?" to which an officer responded, "You need to get out of the way. Right now, he's going to jail, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Scheffler's attorney, Steven Romines, explained that the golfer was attempting to enter Valhalla Golf Club as he had been instructed earlier, unaware of the fatal wreck and the subsequent changes in traffic patterns. "He was going into Valhalla to work out," Romines said. "He was getting ready for his tee time. They were directing traffic. He held his credential out and was going in like they'd been instructed to. Apparently, there had been a traffic accident, maybe even a fatality, down the road, and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that."
Romines emphasized that the miscommunication arose because the officer who attempted to stop Scheffler was not part of the regular event traffic detail at Valhalla Golf Club. "They are allowed to go through, that's why they have the credential and the wave-through," Romines said. "He was unaware there had been a wreck, and he proceeded like they'd been instructed to. He did exactly as he was instructed to enter the premises."
In a statement released after returning to Valhalla, Scheffler addressed the incident, saying, "This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today."
The 27-year-old golfer, who had won four of his past five starts, including his second major championship at the Masters in April, also expressed his condolences to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident, stating, "It truly puts everything in perspective."
