Fellow golfer Michael Kim defended Scottie Scheffler after he was arrested and handcuffed Friday for apparently driving around the scene of a fatal crash on his way to the PGA Championship, saying it's "something I've done countless of times."
Scheffler, ranked the No. 1 player in the world, was arrested wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt around 6 a.m. after he drove past a police officer on his way to the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky, although he was pictured in an orange jumpsuit in his mugshot shortly after his arrest.
Scottie Scheffler's mugshot from Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections. pic.twitter.com/bcJn54Nu5x
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2024
Police said a pedestrian had been struck by a bus while crossing the road near the golf club.
"I will never drive around other cars in traffic driving into a golf tournament ever again... something I've done countless of times," Kim said on the social media platform X.
In a posting about an hour later, Kim asked "Assault???" in response to the charges Scheffler faces because of his arrest.
He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic, the Associated Press reported.
Scheffler, in a statement, said he "never intended to disregard any of the instructions."
"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers," he said in a statement released as he was warming up on the range. "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," he said, the AP reported.
Scheffler made it back to the golf club in time to tee off in the second round.
