What happened to Scottie Scheffler? Golfer describes 'chaotic' arrest before Round 2 at PGA Championship

Kyle Irving

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What happened to Scottie Scheffler? Golfer describes 'chaotic' arrest before Round 2 at PGA Championship image

To say Scottie Scheffler had an unorthodox start to his second round at the PGA Championship would be an understatement.

The No. 1 golfer in the world was pulling into Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville on Friday morning when he was arrested for reportedly driving on a median to get around police at a crash scene near the entrance to the club.

Scheffler was detained by Louisville police and faces for four charges — second degree assault of a police officer, third degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.

After more than an hour at the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections, he was released without bail and escorted back to Valhalla Golf Club to begin his second round at the PGA Championship.

With his chaotic morning behind him, Scheffler composed himself and went on to fire a 5 under par 66 on the day to jump up to a tie for third on the leaderboard at 9 under through the first two rounds.

After the round, Scheffler addressed his whirlwind start to his second round at the PGA Championship.

MORE: Scottie Scheffler score, highlights after arrest at PGA Championship

What happened to Scottie Scheffler?

Scheffler began his press conference by extending sympathies to the family of John Mills, the pedestrian killed in the shuttle bus accident that started the frantic morning at Valhalla Golf Club.

Scheffler went on to describe his own situation as "chaotic" and a "big misunderstanding."

"My head is still spinning. I can't really explain what happened this morning," Scheffler said. "I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. I was just sitting there, waiting, started going through my warmup and I felt like there was a chance I could still come out here and play. ... I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today but my head is still spinning a little bit."

Scheffler said he never tried to name-drop himself to diffuse the situation and simply attempted to comply with anything the police officers asked of him. He added that he watched himself on ESPN from his jail cell and couldn't do the math on if he was going to make his tee time.

The start of the round was delayed by 80 minutes due to the traffic accident. In the end, that gave Scheffler enough time to make his new 10:08 a.m. ET tee time.

"I didn't really feel like I would make my tee time until one of the officers at the jail knocked on my window and said, 'Let's go,'" Scheffler said.

"... At the time I couldn't even remember what my original tee time was. I was just trying to do my best to stay calm. ... My manager asked me if I wanted to [play], I was like, 'Of course,' then we got ready to go play."

That didn't mean Scheffler was unaffected by the arrest.

"I was never angry. I was shaking for like an hour, I would say in shock and in fear," he said. "Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind, control my breathing."

Scheffler ended up shooting a better score (66) than he did in Round 1 (67), jumping up to a tie for third on the leaderboard at 9 under par after his second round.

When asked where it ranks among the best rounds of his career, Scheffler laughed and said: "I'd say it was pretty good. I never imagined going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times, for sure. I was able to go out there and compete and it was a nice round of golf."

Scheffler concluded his press conference by calling the officers at the jail "tremendous" while once again offering condolences to the family of the man killed in the traffic accident.

You can watch the full 12-minute press conference below.

It is expected the charges against Scheffler will be dropped. It was believed to potentially happen early in the week following the PGA Championship, per No Laying Up's Kevin Van Valkenburg, but the World No. 1 golfer's arraignment was rescheduled to June 3, per Yahoo Sports.

On Tuesday, May 21, the Louisville police released a statement saying the internal investigation into Scheffler's arrest is "still ongoing."

"Any policy violations that are revealed through the course of the investigation will be appropriately addressed according to LMPD's disciplinary protocol," the statement read. "The department attends to provide an additional update on the investigation on Thursday, May 23, 2024."

The Louisville police were true to their word. They announced Thursday that the officer who arrested Scheffler had violated the department's policy for body cameras by not turning his on during his interaction with the World No. 1 golfer.

As a result, there is "just pole footage of the arrest," per Brody Miller of The Athletic.

The arresting officer is receiving "corrective action" for his misstep. That said, the Louisville police are not dropping the charges against Scheffler and will instead "allow the courts [to] proceed accordingly."

Scheffler's attorney Steve Romines said the case will either be dismissed or go to trial.

"We have no interest in settling the case," he said, per The Athletic.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.