The most bizarre day in major golf with the arrest of Scottie Scheffler

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The most shocking day in golf’s major championship history began with tragedy and saw Scottie Scheffler, the best male player in the world, arrested, taken to a local jail and released in time to tee off.

It was just after 5 a.m. on a rainy Friday morning when police were called to the street in front of Valhalla Golf Club. A shuttle bus traveling down Shelbyville Road struck and killed John Mills, a local man who worked for a tournament salesman in the PGA Championship.

The fatal accident resulted in traffic being closed in both directions outside Valhalla, which is hosting the major championship for the first time in a decade. Scheffler arrived on the scene an hour later in persistent rain and flashing police lights and attempted to enter the property and begin preparations for the 8:48 a.m. tee time for Round 2 of the PGA Championship. A police and security presence outside a major championship is typical and even common. “I drive past police officers like this probably 10 times a year,” said a PGA Tour swing coach who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

What happened next was anything but ordinary. As Scheffler, who was traveling eastbound, attempted to move his vehicle into the westbound lane, Detective Bryan Gillis attempted to stop the vehicle, according to the Louisville Police arrest report. The police report said Scheffler continued to advance and “pulled Detective Gillis to the ground,” and that he sustained injuries requiring medical attention and irreparable damage to his $80 uniform pants. Jeff Darlington, an ESPN NFL reporter assigned to cover golf’s second major of the year, happened to be there and saw it all unfold. He reported that Scheffler’s vehicle moved 10 to 20 yards before coming to a final stop.

Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, said Scheffler was originally told to go inside and that the officer directing traffic was not part of the event’s traffic enforcement team. “So that’s the reason for the misunderstanding and that’s why we’re here,” Romines said Friday morning.

When Scheffler stopped, he rolled down his window and the officer reached in, grabbed Scheffler’s arm and pulled the door open, Darlington reported. The officer then handcuffed Scheffler and pushed him against the car. As Scheffler was escorted to a police car in the rainy darkness, video filmed by Darlington showed Scheffler turning around and saying, “Can you help?”

“You need to get out of the way,” another officer told Darlington. “Right now he’s going to prison and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Scheffler was arraigned at the Louisville Department of Corrections at 7:28 a.m. and faces charges of second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to obey traffic signals by an officer directing traffic. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

After taking mug shots in an orange jumpsuit that were quickly posted online and stretching in a jail cell while wondering whether he would be released in time, Scheffler was released at 8:40 a.m., along with Valhalla in a black one SUV picked up. Owner Jimmy Kirchdorfer in the passenger seat. He arrived at the course at 9:12 a.m., less than an hour before his 10:08 a.m. tee time, which had been delayed along with the starts for the rest of the field due to the long deficit caused by the accident.

Scheffler went to the clubhouse, had a quick breakfast and headed to the driving range with just over 30 minutes to spare for an abbreviated practice session.

All eyes were on Scheffler’s team as they walked through the practice area and over the players’ bridge that connects the putting green and the range. Players turned their heads as the world No. 1 walked across the driving range to an open tee box in the center of the face, while 30 members of the media followed along as closely as possible.

“You well?” Rickie Fowler asked Scheffler.

“Everything’s fine,” Scheffler replied.

The thousands of people stood in the rain and looked around the corner, hoping to see the best player in the world and the No. 1 talking point in sports. Dozens of cameras were set up on each side of the 10th fairway, and seemingly every reporter with permission crowded the ropes. This was the kind of gallery only Tiger Woods saw in his prime.

Then the 6-foot-2 Scheffler made his way between the tarpaulin fences and appeared under a large umbrella wearing a white quarter-zip and blue pants. Before the starter could announce Scheffler’s name, the Louisville crowd let out a roar that most spectators agreed was exponentially louder than any first tee shot they had ever heard.

“Scott-ie! Scott-ie! Scott-ie!” they sang.

One fan shouted, “Free Scottie!” Another said, “You look great in orange!” One said, “One of us!” Articles have been written in recent weeks about how Scheffler lacks the charisma to keep his top spot in golf. On Friday morning, the entire property seemed to rally behind Scheffler in a way it had never done before in a gallery, a surreal scene of Scheffler’s glorification so soon after his arrest.

Scheffler enters the Valhalla clubhouse after leaving a Louisville prison. (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)

As he hit his first tee shot and walked down the first fairway, Scheffler walked alongside his playing partners Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. He told them a story vividly, clearly describing what had happened on Friday morning. Harman stared back in shock. As Scheffler hit his first approach shot just a few feet from the hole for an easy birdie, “The whole world is on your side” could be heard before another “Scottie!” On the way to No. 11 a chant broke out.

Scheffler’s 5.5-hour round continued like this, a mix of extreme support and youthful humor quickly forgetting about a man’s death leading to this moment. As he teeed off at number 15, one fan said: “What is this, a work release program?” Another said to police security: “What? Are you just going to let him get away with it?” The officers laughed.

But the “Free Scottie” chants were constant. On the 16th hole, a fan named Bob Parks proudly unzipped his jacket and held it apart with his arms to make sure Scheffler and Co. saw his white T-shirt that read “FREE SCOTTIE” in black marker. Scheffler, who had been concentrating all day with his head down, didn’t notice. A few meters away, another group of three displayed similar shirts. They said they grabbed markers to doodle on clothing as soon as they saw the news around 7:30 a.m. Other fans had T-shirts printed with Scheffler’s mugshot. Another man wearing an orange prison jumpsuit costume said he stopped in a party town along the way.

Scheffler said after his round his body shook for an hour as he sat in a jail cell trying to get his heart rate down. He had no idea if he would be able to play, so he did as many stretches as he could in the cell, knowing it would be close when he returned to the field. “That was my first time,” he joked. He said the police officer who drove him to the station was nice and they had a good chat. So as he waited to go in, he asked, “Hey, excuse me, can’t you stay with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?” Scheffler said he was never angry, just shocked. At one point he looked up from his cell and saw himself being arrested on ESPN.

An older officer looked at Scheffler and asked, “So would you like to have the full experience today?”

Scheffler looked at the officer confused and said he didn’t know how to respond.

“Come on man, you want a sandwich?” the officer said back. So Scheffler, who hadn’t eaten, ate a sandwich.

Some fans even went so far as to quickly print t-shirts in support of Scottie Scheffler. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Finally, an officer tapped his cell phone and said, “Let’s go.” Scheffler looked at the TV, saw the time and realized he might be able to make it if the traffic wasn’t so bad. He got in the car and his manager, Blake Smith, asked if he still wanted to play. Scheffler said of course. He went there and immediately heard the tremendous support. He said he tried to stay focused, but this support meant so much to him.

Despite all the chaos surrounding the wild day, Scheffler shot a 66 and entered the clubhouse just two behind the leaders. It was a better round than on Thursday.

And as Scheffler completed the back nine, his security guard was asked if they had been harassed all day.

“Oh yeah,” the officer said. “I would bother us too.”

A group of players gathered in the Valhalla locker room, debating what to do. Will Zalatoris said there have been discussions about going to the PGA of America and stopping the second round. A man had just died. And the leading candidate, the world number 1, had been arrested.

“It was just bizarre,” Zalatoris said.

Even before Friday’s tragedy, Zalatoris thought the tournament was such a logistical mess that he told his parents not to come. “I’m not happy that I was proven right,” he said. He said it took him almost an hour every day to get to the golf course, even though it was only half a mile away, and on Friday it was so bad that he left his wife in the car and he, Cameron Young and Austin Eckroat had walked along the highway to reach his course. When they got there, tournament staff didn’t know who they were or whether they should be allowed entry.

Two-time major champ Collin Morikawa, like Zalatoris and so many others, wanted to stop the conversation and remind everyone of the worst that happened Friday.

“It is unfortunate for the person who passed away today,” Morikawa said. “I don’t think it’s talked about enough or at all.”

And as Scheffler walked into his packed news conference Friday afternoon, he took a deep breath and started talking about John Mills. He downplayed the interaction that led to his arrest, saying he couldn’t comment but it would be resolved. Instead, he thought about Mills’ family.

“I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning,” Scheffler said. “One day he goes to the golf course to watch a tournament. A few moments later he tries to cross the street and now he is no longer with us. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. My heart – I feel for them. I’m sorry.”

There are now two days left in the PGA Championship and Scheffler is still in the mix for his second major win in a row. Once the tournament is over, his legal troubles will await him. His arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to online court records.

Scheffler tried to get back to his routine Friday afternoon, practicing a little and planning to go to the gym afterward. His focus will be on calming down from his strange Friday morning and trying to get back to normal for the rest of the weekend. No more stretching in a prison cell.

(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)