PGA Championship 2024: Inside Scottie Scheffler's chaotic Friday at Valhalla
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It appeared, at first, like fake news.
Scottie Scheffler – the humble and gracious, God-fearing, gentle giant – was stopped by Louisville police near the gates of Valhalla Golf Club about 6:15 a.m. Friday.
Scheffler was arriving on property nearly four hours ahead of his delayed second-round tee time at the PGA Championship, hoping to sneak in a workout before what was expected to be a long, miserable slog in a steady rain.
It had already been a chaotic morning. The PGA of America had sent out a text alert to players at about 5:30 a.m. that there’d been a serious accident just outside Valhalla and that second-round play was delayed at least an hour. Some players, like Brian Harman, saw the message and headed back to bed for a few more precious minutes of sleep. For others, such as Rickie Fowler and Will Zalatoris, they still climbed into their courtesy vehicles and pulled onto Shelbyville Road, the only way into Valhalla, just to sit for more than an hour in traffic that had backed up for miles.
As Scheffler approached the club entrance, driving eastbound, just past 6 a.m. in his PGA-logoed SUV, he turned into a westbound lane to avoid the congestion.
What happened next will later be hashed out in court.
According to the incident report, Det. Bryan Gillis, wearing what Louisville police described as a full uniform and high-visibility rain jacket, attempted to give Scheffler instructions on how to proceed. But police said Scheffler refused and accelerated forward, “dragging” the detective “to the ground” and causing cuts to his left wrist and knee that later required treatment at the hospital.
“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to get to my tee time,” Scheffler said he told police.
“Outside of that,” he added, “things escalated from there.”
When Scheffler exited the vehicle, he was pushed against the car and immediately placed in handcuffs, according to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident. Video shows that, as Scheffler was being led away in the dark, an officer told Darlington: “There’s nothing you can do. He’s going to jail.”
Wearing a Nike polo and gym shorts, the 6-foot-3-inch Scheffler was placed into the back of the police vehicle, his hands trembling, and driven to the station about a half hour away.
“I was just really confused,” Scheffler said later. “I was doing my best to defuse the situation. I was just sitting there trying to remain as calm as possible.”
News of Scheffler’s arrest mushroomed on social media.
It was clear, from the outset, that Scheffler’s incident was separate from the pedestrian fatality investigation that had occurred about an hour earlier, when a local vendor, later identified as John Mills, was struck and killed by a bus while reporting to work. But there still were more questions than answers. Did Scheffler do something wrong, or was there a serious misunderstanding? (His attorney, Steven Romines, told reporters that Scheffler did “exactly as he was instructed to enter the premises.”) Would the issue get resolved in a timely enough manner for him to play? Should the PGA step in and delay the second round because of exceptional circumstances?
To the players, the most unfathomable part was that it was Scheffler involved.
PGA leader Xander Schauffele believed it was a prank.
“Of all the guys on Tour to get arrested,” Zalatoris said, “he’s in the bottom five.”
“I thought it was fake,” Fowler said. “We all know Scottie. He’s not exactly someone you’d expect to be in trouble with the law. But then we saw video and photo proof.”
Video of Scheffler’s arrest and details from Darlington’s report were beamed all over ESPN’s morning programming. Scheffler was officially booked at 7:28 a.m. – more than 2 ½ hours ahead of his rescheduled tee time – and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, a felony; third-degree criminal mischief; reckless driving; and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. He took off his blue polo and threw on the orange jail shirt for his mugshot that quickly went viral.
“I was never angry; I was just in shock,” Scheffler said. “I was shaking the whole time.”
After a while, it became clear to the officers whom they had arrested. A few of them recognized the world No. 1 and reigning Masters champion.
While Scheffler got his fingerprints taken, a nearby officer asked him: “Do you want the full experience today?”
Scheffler was confused.
“He’s like, ‘Come on, man. You want a sandwich?’
“I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll take a sandwich.’”
Without his watch or phone, Scheffler had no idea how much time had elapsed since his initial run-in with police. But alone in his holding cell, he looked up at a TV. On the screen was ESPN’s “Get Up” program, Scheffler’s name and face and predicament outlined with a red breaking-news banner. As he began calculating how much time he had to get to the course, a couple of the officers downstairs, he said, started discussing how long it’d take for him to get released, too. Whatever it was, he’d no doubt be tight on time, so Scheffler started going through his pre-round routine. Unable to get in his workout, after all, he began stretching.
“I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could,” he said. “I was pretty rattled.”
What Louisville police report and Scottie Scheffler say about Friday arrest
The Louisville Metro Police Department released its incident report and Scottie Scheffler spoke after his Friday round.
Back at Valhalla, watching the drama unfold live on TV, more than a half-dozen players in the locker room discussed their options.
Earlier this week, Zalatoris had sensed a logistical nightmare was brewing, to the point that he’d told his parents to not even bothering coming to the PGA. He said there was little to no signage for buses or through traffic. There weren’t designated lanes for courtesy vehicles or player passes. He was staying in a house 2 ½ miles from the course, but the shortest commute he’s had this week was 50 minutes. Stuck in a gridlock Friday morning, it took him 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to the course – and that included a two-mile walk, after ditching his courtesy car with his wife.
“It was just bizarre,” Zalatoris said. “I’m not happy I was proven right.”
But now there was frustration in the locker room. For about 20 minutes, Zalatoris said, there was at least some discussion of going to PGA officials to implore them to delay the second round by a few hours so the entire situation – the police investigation, the Scheffler incident, the traffic – could get cleared up.
“We were all just shell-shocked,” Zalatoris said. “We didn’t know what to think or do or say.”
Finally, though, there was an update: Scheffler was about to be released. An officer knocked on the window of his cell.
“Let’s go,” the officer said, motioning for him to roll up his mat.
When Scheffler hopped in a waiting car outside the station, his agent, Blake Smith, asked if he still wanted to play.
“Of course,” Scheffler said, and so off they went.
With traffic now clear, Scheffler returned to Valhalla at 9:12 a.m., less than an hour before his new tee time. A media horde was waiting as he was dropped off at the front of the clubhouse, exiting from the backseat of a black Range Rover. Still wearing his polo and shorts, he ducked into the clubhouse to change.
“I asked if he was all good,” Fowler said. “Gave him a fist bump and let’s go play golf.”
After arriving in the practice area a short while later, Scheffler called out to his caddie, Ted Scott: “Let’s just go hit.” As a steady rain fell, he walked across a spectator bridge and slipped into a spot on the range between Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, photographers and camera crews scurrying behind him.
Scheffler is a creature of habit, an old soul who craves the steadiness of his routine and process, but of course, this was no typical morning. For 20 minutes, he went through the entire bag, hitting everything from wedges to driver, not rushed but not thorough, either. (At least he’d already put in some extra work recently; after an opening 67 late Thursday, he had retired to the range to straighten out his grip.) Now, flanked by his caddie, swing coach and agent, Scheffler appeared calm and more comfortable, stopping once, when approached by Brendon Todd, to look at a photo on his phone and laugh.
“I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could,” Scheffler said, “but I still feel like my head is spinning a little bit.”
After the abbreviated range session, Scheffler rapped a few balls on the practice putting green as some of his peers offered well wishes.
“I didn’t want to bother him, because I knew he was short on time,” Zalatoris said, “but I just told him I loved him and hoped he’s OK.”
On his way to the 10th tee, Randy Smith, Scheffler’s longtime coach, put his hand on his pupil’s shoulder.
“It’s all about you today,” Smith told him.
The message: Lock in and play.
“I knew there was going to be a lot of distractions,” Scheffler said, “but I didn’t really know what the reception would be like.”
In a grouping with the three most recent major champions, Scheffler arrived on the tee to thunderous applause – and the fans only grew louder once he stuffed his wedge shot on his opening hole for a kick-in birdie.
Indeed, over five hours, the crowd roared for him like perhaps they never had before. The two-time Masters champion has always been a well-liked figure, admired for his excellence and beloved for his benevolence, but it’d be a stretch to say that he’s immensely popular or even that well-known; the officer this morning, after all, had to ask Darlington, the ESPN reporter, who it was that they’d placed in the back of the police cruiser.
But here at Valhalla, Scheffler’s early-morning incident inspired fans in new ways. Lining each fairway, they chanted his name from the hospitality suites. They screamed, “F--k the police!” They scribbled “FREE SCOTTIE!” on white T-shirts. One spectator wore an orange jumpsuit in a show of solidarity. A few enterprising fans had moved quickly to capitalize on the news, splashing Scheffler’s recent mugshot on a shirt. Another, just off the 17th tee, photoshopped a blue bandana on Scheffler’s Tour profile photo.
“I felt like they were cheering extra loud for me today,” he said.
And they had plenty to scream about.
After settling himself over the first few holes, Scheffler went out in 34 and then added three more birdies on his inward nine. Add it all up, and it was a 5-under 66 – a remarkable score given the adversity, certainly, and one that kept him squarely in the mix to knock off the second leg of the single-season Slam. He’s just three shots off the halfway lead.
“He can compartmentalize that stuff really well. … I think the golf course was probably a solace for him," said Brian Harman, who was grouped with Scheffler. "With all that going on, it was probably nice to get out and just go and do what he’s really good at.”
Friday’s chaotic arrest was the latest twist in a whirlwind nine days for Scheffler. He and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their first child, a boy named Bennett, last Wednesday at home in Dallas. On Monday, he flew to Kentucky and tried to prepare, amid a few weather delays, for the second major of the season. And later Friday, Scott is headed to Louisiana to attend his daughter’s high school graduation; he’ll be off caddie duty for Saturday’s third round, handing the bag of the world No. 1 to Brad Payne, the Tour chaplain. For Scheffler, crunching a few numbers himself will comparatively be a small, and welcome, inconvenience.
It was more than nine hours later now, 3:30 p.m., when Scheffler sat in the media tent to address reporters for the first time. Unable to comment specifically on the incident, he shared the other details and recollections of his morning unlike any other. He mourned the loss of a life and grieved for the family it impacted. He spoke of his gratitude in being able to compete. He thanked the officers who helped keep him calm and loose. He expressed relief that the chaotic day was behind him – that, as soon as he was done here, he looked forward to diving back into his normal routine: hitting balls, stroking putts, signing autographs.
“I definitely never imagined ever going to jail,” he said, “and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times. But I was grateful to be able to go out there and compete, and it was definitely a nice round of golf.”
And with that, Scheffler exited through the doors to his left, winded through the fitness trailers and emerged on the other side, where his parents were already waiting for him with two uniformed cops.
“What’s up?” Scottie said to his father, tenderly patting his chest and wrapping an arm around him.
Then he headed inside player family dining, eager for his first real meal of the day.
