See you in court! – Why Scottie Scheffler’s arrest is good for golf
Other than ‘Biden endorses Trump for President,’ here is the one headline nobody thought they’d read last week:
“Officer Involved In Scottie Scheffler Arrest At PGA Championship Complains About His Damaged Pants.”
By now you’ve heard about the Great Parking Fiasco. The good news is you might be hearing more.
Scheffler’s arraignment was delayed on Monday due to a scheduling conflict. That indicates the case is moving ahead.
The prosecution might not drop the charges. The judge might order a trial. If he or she does, all I can say is “You Da Man!”
This could help spark golf out of its funk. Its popularity has fizzled due to Tiger Woods’ decline and the feud between the PGA and LIV tours. It seems fans can’t relate to guys making $2 million a tournament griping about guys making $4 million a tournament.
The conversation changed last Friday morning. There was nothing funny about a pedestrian getting killed by a shuttle bus. But the crime caper it sparked flooded the internet with memes and jokes.
Scheffler suddenly became the most famous face on earth, thanks to his mug shot. It’s now on countless T-shirts. I especially like the one with the accompanying mug shots of Woods and John Daly.
“Original Gangstas,” is the caption.
But unlike Woods’ and Daly’s drunken arrests, Scheffler comes off as a sympathetic victim of an overzealous cop. Evidence may show he tried to big-time his way past the officer, though I doubt that was the case.
Either way, it should make for great courtroom drama. The People vs. Scheffler wouldn’t be actual golf, but it would generate interest in a sport that could use some.
I foresee a harmless version of O.J. II. Give me Nancy Grace, Geraldo, battling forensic experts testifying about Scheffler’s tire tracks. And the dramatic reading of the police report, highlighted by ““Detective Gillis’ uniform pants, valued at approximately $80 were damaged beyond repair.”Hey, it’ll beat hearing millionaires moan about the size of their paychecks…
Stud of the Week: Florida’s baseball team, which rose from the dead to win the series at Georgia and clinch a winning record. That should get the Gators into the NCAA tournament. That’s not saying much, but it beats not getting in.
Stud II: Manchester City, for winning its fourth straight Premier League title. That might be good enough to get in the NCAA tournament.
Stud II: Horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas, for coaching Seize the Grey to a Preakness win at age 88.
Stud III: Raquinho, the racoon that ran onto the pitch during the Philadelphia Union-New York City FC MLS soccer match. He scored as many goals in three minutes as most soccer players do in a season.
Dud of the Week: Georgia receiver Sacovie White, who was charged with reckless driving and driving the wrong way on the one-way street. As of Tuesday, the school had not commented on the incident because Kirby Smart was still trying to explain the other 863 reckless driving incidents that have occurred in the past five years. …
Special Swimsuit Edition Stud: Sports Illustrated, for putting 26 women on the cover of its 60th anniversary cover. More than one-third are 40 years or older, led by 82-year-old Martha Stewart.
Stud II: Me, for being culturally correct and not saying I miss the days when SI swimsuit models weren’t older than D. Wayne Lukas.
Dud II: Me, for being culturally incorrect and making fun of soccer. …
The NBA has announced that if Minnesota and Indiana make the NBA Finals, both teams will be put under load-management protocols and ABC will instead show LeBron James playing H-O-R-S-E against Bronny James. ….
PGA Redux: It wasn’t nearly as intriguing as Scheffler’s drama, but congratulations to Xander Schauffele for winning the tournament and becoming the first golfer with a name beginning in X to win a major. …
Clarification: D. Wayne Lukas is 88, not the horse. …
Ronaldo’s $260 million haul made him the world’s highest paid athlete last year, according to Forbes. He made $200 million for jumping to Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League.
Jon Rahm was next with $218 million, most of it from the Saudi-backed LIV Tour. Let’s just hope the Saudis don’t get into the college football business. Riyadh State would kick the SEC’s butt. …
Georgia has announced that Scottie Scheffler will be offered a football scholarship if he is found guilty of driving over a cop. …
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Until next time, please donate to GoFundMe campaign to buy Detective Gillis a new pair of pants.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Scheffler arrest is a nice break from the golf doldrums
