Top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday after he tried to drive past an officer into the Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the 106th PGA Championship, according to reports and arrest records.
At the time, traffic outside the gold course in Louisville, Kentucky, had been stopped after a man was fatally struck by a shuttle bus.
Scottie Scheffler's mugshot from Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections. pic.twitter.com/bcJn54Nu5x
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2024
According to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the scene, Scheffler attempted to drive around the crash scene along a median.
After a police officer ordered Scheffler to stop, he continued to drive up to 20 yards closer to the entrance, according to ESPN.
A police report said that Scheffler accelerated toward a detective on the scene, dragging him to the ground, apparently as the law enformcement officer grabbed for the car.
"Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground," the report states.
From the Scottie Scheffler police report: the arresting officer, Bryan Gillis, says that Scheffler disobeyed his orders and then dragged him to the ground with his car causing injuries to the officer and his clothing. pic.twitter.com/oh5eOT0ZuY
— Michael Eaves (@michaeleaves) May 17, 2024
Scheffler finally stopped and rolled down his window. An officer then pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him against the vehicle and put him in handcuffs, according to Darlington.
The reporter, who was standing nearby when Scheffler was detained, said the golfer turned to him and asked: "Can you help?"
But an officer told Darlington: "You need to get out of the way. Right now, he's going to jail, and there's nothing you can do about it," the journalist reported.
Scheffler was shown on video being placed in a police car and driven away.
Scottie Scheffler getting cuffed before the PGA championship from a misunderstanding is one step away from shooting Derek Jeter in the tunnel before the World Series in The Other Guys pic.twitter.com/t5b3kIA6Df
— Billy (@Billyhottakes) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was booked on four charges following the incident: second degree assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and failing to follow traffic signals from an officer, according to court records.
His attorney, Steven Romines, told CNN in a statement Friday that Scheffler will plead not guilty and will "litigate this matter."
"Due to the combination of event traffic and a traffic fatality in the area, it was a very chaotic situation," said Romines.
Scheffler was "proceeding as directed by another traffic officer and driving a marked player's vehicle with credentials visible. In the confusion, Scottie is alleged to have disregarded a different officer's traffic signals resulting in these charges," the statement added.
"He stopped immediately upon being directed to and never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle," according to the statement. "We will plead not guilty and litigate this matter as needed."
Scheffler was released shortly before his scheduled tee time and began the second round, which had been delayed because of the fatal accident, according to ESPN.
Scheffler, last year's repeat PGA Player of the Year, took a break from competition last week to be with his wife, Meredith, as she gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy.
He competed in the first day of the PGA tournament on Thursday, and vowed to "clean up some of his mistakes."
