World number one Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police outside Valhalla Golf Club, with reports detailing a surreal incident at the PGA Championship.
Scheffler was detained as he made his way to the course for the second round of the PGA Championship, the second Major of the year.
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Scottie Scheffler handcuffed by police at PGA Championship
The first word of the incident came from ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who tweeted just after 11:30am on Friday that Scheffler had been detained in handcuffs.
Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car,…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Darlington claimed that a "misunderstanding with traffic flow" had seen Scheffler attempt to drive past a police stop outside the course. A police officer then stopped Scheffler and asked him to step out of his car, before pushing him against the vehicle and placing him in handcuffs.
Surreal video footage showed the two-time Major winner being escorted by police outside the course.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Appearing on ESPN to discuss the incident, Darlington said that the situation had developed "very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively," and that Scheffler had allegedly asked Darlington to help him.
Darlington then went on to claim that a police officer had said to Scheffler, "There's nothing you can do, he's going to jail."
Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir later reported that Scheffler had been released by police after the incident.
Just been told Scottie Scheffler has now been RELEASED by Louisville Police after initially being detained following some confusion as he tried to navigate around a traffic cordon. https://t.co/M4g05eeURL
— Jamie Weir (@jamiecweir) May 17, 2024
Traffic management procedures are in place at Valhalla Golf Club this morning after a tragic fatal accident outside the course earlier today - Scottie Scheffler was not involved in this incident.
The incident involving Scheffler allegedly came as the American attempted to navigate the backed-up traffic caused by the tragic accident earlier on Friday morning.
Later on Friday afternoon, images of Scheffler's mugshot with the Louisiana Department of Corrections circulated online.
Scottie Scheffler's mugshot from Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections. pic.twitter.com/bcJn54Nu5x
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2024
ESPN displayed a graphic detailing the alleged list of criminal charges against Scheffler:
- 2nd Degree Assault of a Police Officer
- 3rd Degree Criminal Mischief
- Reckless Driving
- Disregarding Traffic Signals from an Officer Directing Traffic
The 27-year-old responded to the incident on his Instagram page. Scheffler posted a story which read:
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.
Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident in the morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.
Scheffler teed off just after 3pm Irish time.
We'll have more on this story as it develops.
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