Chaos before PGA Championship: Austin Eckroat walks more than a mile to get to Valhalla GC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Austin Eckroat was stuck in traffic about a mile and a half from the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club early Friday when he decided to bail and walk the rest of the way.

"It was a weird morning," said Eckroat, winner of the Cognizant Classic. "I was already on my way out here when we received the text that there was a delay. I got to the golf course, 2 miles away, and it took me about 30 minutes.

"I ended up getting out of my car and walking a mile and a half and having my wife drive the car in. Something I've never experienced. It was a tragedy followed by a weird incident."

Golfers describe the chaotic scene after a vendor was killed when hit by a shuttle bus. John Mills, 69, was crossing the main road by the course's entrance when he was struck.

Then, about an hour after the accident, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was arrested after attempting to drive past a police officer. Scheffler, who called the incident a "misunderstanding," was released about an hour before his tee time.

Min Woo Lee called it a "weird" but "very sad" morning. He said he was able to enter the grounds by following a courtesy car and going around traffic.

"I thought it was a bit of an overreaction," he said about Scheffler being handcuffed and taken to jail.

While Collin Morikawa said he "kind of talked" his way in, Harris English said it could have been any player in Scheffler's situation.

"I think I was probably one of the last few players to get in without any chaos," Morikawa said.

"That could have been any one of us," added English. "We're all taking that same route coming into the club.

"Very unfortunate. You never want to hear about a person losing their life coming to the course. It's just terrible. We're out here playing a golf tournament, and somebody just got killed outside the entrance, which is very unfortunate, and our heart goes out to that family."

Mark Hubbard agreed.

"I thought the saddest part was that the whole thing was about Scottie getting arrested and … I'm glad he's doing OK and everything, but I mean, someone died this morning, and we were out there on the course. I bet 90% of the people out here don't even know that that happened. That's not Scottie's fault at all, but ... that was the real tragedy today."

LIV golfer Graeme McDowell, who is not in the field, posted on social media that "most tour players can relate to trying to navigate around traffic getting into courses at massive tournaments."

McDowell then referenced his own league, and not in a very flattering way, by adding, "(and no, not a problem we have at LIV events much) (yes, because we don’t get large crowds yet)."

McDowell continued: "I’d imagine the police were on high alert with the fatality, assuming timing was similar. Emotions would have been running high. Crazy stuff. If he shoots 65 today just go ahead and give him the trophy."

Scheffler came close, shooting a 66.

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: PGA Championship: Chaotic outside Valhalla after tragic accident