Scottie Scheffler arrested before PGA Championship Friday, then completes second round

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer and the winner of the 2024 Masters tournament, was arrested by Louisville police Friday morning during a chaotic traffic stop that injured an officer outside Valhalla Golf Club.

Scheffler allegedly attempted to drive past a police officer to get into the course after an accident had stopped traffic before the start of Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship. The officer was hospitalized with injuries to his wrist and knee after Scheffler’s vehicle dragged the officer to the ground, the arrest report from the Louisville Metro Police Department said.

The start of Friday’s second round was delayed after a pedestrian was killed by a shuttle bus at about 5 a.m. outside Valhalla on Shelbyville Road.

Scheffler, a 27-year-old Texas native, was arrested and booked into jail and faced four charges as a result of the incident: Second degree assault of a police officer, third degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from police officers directing traffic.

Scheffler, who was arrested at 6:20 a.m., was released between 8:30 and 9 a.m. and arrived at Valhalla around 9:15 a.m., ESPN reported during its live broadcast of the tournament.

Play was originally scheduled to get underway at 7:15 a.m. but was delayed till 8:35 a.m. because of the accident.

Scheffler was originally scheduled to tee off at 8:48 a.m. but the delay moved his starting time to 10:08 a.m.

Right on time, at 10:08 a.m., Scheffler teed off as scheduled to cheers from the rain-soaked crowd in attendance Friday. Scheffler, clearly a crowd favorite as the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, was met with chants of “Scottie! Scottie! Scottie!” upon his arrival at the tee box.

Scheffler shot a 4-under-par 67 in Thursday’s opening round and was tied for 12th place in the 156-player field. Scheffler, after all that took place Friday morning, improved on that effort in the second round with a 66, bringing his two-round score to 9-under par. Scheffler left the course Friday afternoon tied for second place but several other golfers, including first-round leader Xander Schauffele, were still on the course.

The arrest report detailed the injury suffered by detective Bryan Gillis of the Louisville Metro Police Department and the full account of the incident:

“Detective Gillis was directing traffic into Gate 1 of the Valhalla Golf Course due to the road being closed in both directions from an earlier fatal collision. Listed subject was driving eastbound to gain access to the course. Subject pulled into the westbound lanes, where outbound traffic was flowing and to avoid backed up traffic.

“Detective Gillis was in the middle of the westbound lanes, in full LMPD uniform and a hi-visibility yellow reflective rain jacket. Detective Gillis stopped subject and attempted to give instructions. Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground.

“Detective Gillis suffered pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee. He was transported to the hospital for further medical treatment by emergency medical personnel. Detective Gillis’ uniform pants, valued at approximately $80, were damaged beyond repair.”

That second-degree assault charge is a class C felony — punishable between 5-10 years in prison if convicted.

Before teeing off Friday, Scheffler released a statement about his arrest to reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident and broke the story for ESPN.

“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,” Scheffler said. “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 this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”

Scheffler, who was released Friday on his own recognizance, is scheduled to be arraigned in Jefferson District Court on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Herald-Leader staff writer Christopher Leach contributed to this article.

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