Scottie Scheffler was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer before the PGA Championship, then returns to “play some golf.”

CNN
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The world’s best golfer, Scottie Scheffler, was arrested, charged with assault and released from prison before scoring a superb 5-under-par victory in a matter of hours at the PGA Championship on Friday that set the typically staid world of professional golf on fire turned his head.

“I feel like my head is still spinning. I can’t really explain what happened this morning. I spent some time stretching in a prison cell. This is a first for me,” said Scheffler on Friday afternoon. “I was lucky enough to make it back out today and play some golf.”

Scheffler, 27, was trying to drive to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the second round of the tournament around 6 a.m. when he came to the scene of a fatal accident. According to police, he allegedly injured a police officer who was directing traffic and was subsequently arrested and arrested.

According to Jefferson County court records, Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, along with lesser charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to obey signals from officers directing traffic.

He was released from prison and returned to the golf course for his tee time. Shortly after 10 a.m. he hit his first tee shot of the day, earning a lot of applause from the audience and making birdie on the first hole.

Scheffler started Friday at 4 under par in 12th place. After his arrest, he shot 5 under par in the second round and was tied for third place at the end of the game.

The arrest of the world’s No. 1 golfer – known as an “upright, outstanding” player who just became a father a few days ago – has dramatically disrupted one of golf’s most important tournaments. Scheffler won his second Masters title last month and was the overwhelming favorite in the PGA Championship.

Scheffler’s attorney told CNN that he intends to plead not guilty to the charges. In a statement, Scheffler called the incident a “big misunderstanding.”

“This morning I followed police instructions. “It was a very chaotic situation, understandably given the tragic accident that had occurred previously, and there was a huge misunderstanding about what I believe I was being asked to do,” he said in a statement on Instagram. “I never intended to disobey any of the instructions. I hope I can put that aside and focus on golf today.”

Scheffler declined to comment further on the details of the reasons for the arrest after his round, but said he believed the issue would be “resolved fairly quickly.”

Scheffler said the arrest left him “pretty shaken” and his heart rate increased during the game. Still, he praised officers at the prison who he said were joking while he was being fingerprinted, and said he was grateful to the police.

The incident began as Scheffler drove to Valhalla Golf Club around 6 a.m. for the second round of the tournament, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who observed and filmed the arrest.

Earlier that morning, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a bus as he attempted to cross the main road to the racetrack, said Dwight Mitchell, spokesman for the Louisville Metro Police Department. For this reason, there was an increased police presence at the entrance to the race track.

Arriving in a marked player vehicle, Scheffler attempted to drive around the scene of the accident on a median, according to ESPN, which first reported Scheffler’s arrest. “A police officer instructed Scheffler to stop, but Scheffler drove approximately 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance,” ESPN said.

“Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Walhalla. The officer then began yelling at Scheffler to get out of the car. As Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer pushed Scheffler against the car and immediately handcuffed him,” Darlington posted on X.

Darlington’s video shows police escorting a handcuffed Scheffler into a police vehicle.

“Right now he’s going to jail,” an officer on the scene says in the video.

According to a Louisville Metro Police report, Scheffler was attempting to gain entry to the golf course when he was stopped by an officer wearing a full police uniform and a yellow reflective rain jacket. The officer, identified as Det. Bryan Gillis, stopped Scheffler and attempted to give instructions.

“The subject refused to obey and accelerated forward, knocking Detective Gillis to the ground,” the report states.

The detective suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee and was taken to the hospital for further treatment, the report said. His uniform pants, valued at about $80, “were damaged beyond repair,” the report continued.

Louisville police released a statement saying they were still gathering information and investigating what happened. “We are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation. “We are grateful that everyone involved is cooperating fully,” police said.

Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, told CNN in a statement on Friday that Scheffler was on his way to the golf course to prepare for his tee time at the PGA Championship.

“Due to the combination of event traffic and a fatality in the area, there was a very chaotic situation. “He acted as directed by another traffic officer and drove the vehicle of a marked player with visible identification,” Romines said. “In the confusion, Scottie allegedly disregarded another officer’s traffic signals, resulting in these charges.”

Romines said multiple eyewitnesses confirmed that Scheffler “didn’t do anything wrong” but was driving as instructed.

“He stopped immediately when asked to do so and at no time did he attack an officer with his vehicle,” the statement said. “We will plead not guilty and take this matter to trial as appropriate.”

The arraignment against Scheffler is scheduled for Tuesday.

PGA of America, the organizer of the PGA Championship, identified the pedestrian who died in the earlier accident as John Mills, a worker at one of the organization’s suppliers.

“Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who died in a tragic accident while reporting for work early this morning,” the organization said.

“Concerning the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are cooperating fully while local authorities review the incident. While the legal process is ongoing, questions should be directed to Scheffler’s attorney or local authorities.”

In separate statements, both Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear expressed their condolences to the victim’s family and called the subsequent incident involving Scheffler and police “unfortunate.”

“LMPD is fully investigating this incident and the legal process will continue. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation,” Greenberg said.

The man’s death “really puts everything in perspective,” Scheffler said in his statement.

Scheffler’s arrest represents a stark contrast to his clean image, said David Dusek, senior writer at Golfweek.

“Scottie Scheffler is one of the most squeaky clean, sincere, outstanding and respected players here on the PGA Tour,” said Dusek. “He is known for being very calm and clear-headed on the golf course, and he stays that way even when he’s not on the golf course.”

After a standout 2023 season in which he retained the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year title, Scheffler has only cemented his status as a dominant force in men’s golf this season. Just a week after his commanding win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he launched a stunning late charge to become the first player to ever defend the Players Championship.

Since then, the 27-year-old has seemed virtually unstoppable, as victory at the RBC Heritage – just a week after donning his second green jersey at Augusta – gave him four wins in five starts.

Last week, Scheffler withdrew from competition to be with his wife Meredith, who gave birth to the couple’s first child, Bennett.

“Sitting at home with the girl I dated our kid in high school and then having the green jacket in the closet is a pretty crazy feeling,” he said, “and I just wanted to be as grateful as possible be.”

After Thursday’s game at Louisville, Scheffler was hoping to “clean up a few mistakes,” he said.

“I missed two putts that I thought I should have holed today, but that’s going to happen when the greens are a little broken,” he said. “I felt like there were a few things I could work out tomorrow, but overall it was a solid round today.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained the incorrect last name for attorney Steve Romines.

This story has been updated with additional information.