LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chaos continued at the PGA Championship on a strange Friday morning, with Scotty Scheffler arrested as he tried to drive into the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club to prepare for the second round.
And just hours after Scheffler was handcuffed and taken to the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections for arraignment, processing and release, the world No. 1-ranked Scheffler went out and shot an astonishing 5-under 66. , took the lead with just two strokes left. He finished first in the tournament with a total of 9 under par.
“I still feel light-headed,” Scheffler said after the round. “I can’t explain what happened this morning at all. It was pretty rattling to say the least. I was never angry. I was just in shock. I was shaking for about an hour. That was a mistake to me. It was a completely new feeling.
“The police officer who took me to the jail was very nice. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car and it kind of calmed me down. I sat there and walked inside. I asked him, “Excuse me, could you hang out with me for a few minutes to calm down?”
“He came out and we had a nice chat. Afterwards, the police officers in the prison were great. Some of them asked me who I was, what was going on, and how… I think we made some jokes when we realized how we ended up there.
“This older police officer looked at me while I was doing fingerprinting or something and said, ‘So do you want to have the whole experience today?’ I took a look and thought, “I don’t know how to answer that.” He was like, “Okay, you want a sandwich?” I thought, “Sure, I’ll have a sandwich.” I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. ” ”
The Scheffler incident occurred about an hour after John Mills, who worked for a PGA Championship sales company, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus in front of the club’s entrance as he tried to cross the road.
As a result, police restricted vehicular traffic in the area.
Louisville police said Scheffler was unaware of the incident and continued to drive into the club’s entrance even after being told to stop.
The officer who tried to stop Scheffler was identified as a lieutenant, according to a police report. Brian Gillis.
“The subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, pulling Detective Gillis to the ground,” the report states.
“When they took me out of the car, I was so confused and I said, ‘Sorry, I’m just trying to go to tee time,'” Scheffler said after the round. “Things escalated from there. I apologized profusely, but it was just chaotic, dark, rainy, and there was a lot going on. They had just had an accident. At the time, I didn’t know what happened except that there was an accident. I didn’t know it was fatal.
“My condolences go out to Mr. Mills’ family. I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. My heart goes out to them.”
When Scheffler stopped, the officer pulled him out of the pickup truck he was driving, pinned him against the vehicle, and handcuffed him.
Follow the Post’s latest coverage of Scotty Scheffler’s morning at the PGA Championship
Scheffler was driven to the station and charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and failing a traffic officer.
The PGA of America delayed tee times by 80 minutes after the pedestrian fatality, and Scheffler’s original 8:48 a.m. tee time was postponed to 10:08 a.m.
Mr. Scheffler was arrested at 7:28 a.m., at which point his mugshot was taken wearing a police-issued orange V-neck prison shirt.
He was released from custody at 8:40 a.m.
At 9:12 a.m., Scheffler arrived at Valhalla, driving a Range Rover SUV behind him.
After a quick breakfast in the players’ dining room, Scheffler arrived at the practice field at 9:37 a.m. and was greeted and given fist pumps by his fellow players, including Rickie Fowler.
when he walked to number 10th As he teed off the first hole of his second round, a large crowd surrounded the teeing area and lined the fairway, chanting his name.
“Scotty, Scotty, Scotty”
“We love you, Scotty.”
At one point, chants of “Free Scottie” broke out.
The gallery was large, more appropriate for Sunday afternoon’s final draw than Friday morning’s miserable, rainy second round.
“The fans were amazing today,” Scheffler said. “I felt like they were cheering me on extra loud today. I don’t think you can see it on my face, but it’s really fun to play in front of the fans. The support I have received here over the past few months has been tremendous and I am truly grateful.”
Scheffler faithfully replicated his even-tempered nature on the golf course, outwardly appearing completely unaffected by an experience that should have been quite rattling.
His actions, his conversations with his playing partners, current U.S. Open champion Windham Clark and current British Open champion Brian Harman, and the way he played, suggested something unusual happened to Scheffler on Friday. would have been unimaginable.
He hit his first tee shot into the rough on the right, laid up with an iron into the fairway, then tucked his third shot three feet inside for a tap-in birdie on the par-5 10th.thhis first hole.
Scheffler birdied another par-5 18th to get back to 3 under, then birdied the second and fourth holes to get to 8 under, at which point he was one stroke behind Xander Schauffele’s lead. approached. for a moment.
Scheffler finished the day at 9 under par, two strokes behind leader Collin Morikawa at the end of the round, a remarkable performance on a remarkable day.
“I would say it was the best round of my career, but I think it was pretty good,” Scheffler said. “I definitely never imagined going to prison, and I certainly never imagined going to prison in the morning before tea time.
“It was nice to get inside the ropes and do what I love. I love competing here on tour and I love playing in major championships. It’s been pretty chaotic. It was one day, but I was able to continue playing in the tournament.”
