Scottie Scheffler was detained and handcuffed by Louisville police outside Valhalla Golf Club on Friday ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident. .
Darlington said on ESPN’s broadcast that the officers acted “very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively.”
The incident, which occurred around 5:45 a.m. in pitch darkness, was all due to misaligned traffic.
Schaeffler was trying to avoid traffic jams caused by a fatal shuttle bus crash near the course.
As Scheffler attempted to enter the track, officers began banging on the side of the car to try to stop him.
“When he did not stop, the officer pinned himself to the car, and Scheffler drove another 10 yards before stopping. The officer then grabbed Mr. Scheffler’s arm and attempted to pull him out of the vehicle. But at that point, when Mr. Scheffler finally opened the door, the officers pulled him out of the car, pinned him against the vehicle, and immediately handcuffed him,” Darlington told SportsCenter.
Darlington pointed out that Scheffler’s car is the player’s transportation vehicle and is the standard vehicle used by players to access the course.
The officer told Darlington that Scheffler was “going to jail,” and that PGA security was not allowed access to Scheffler as Scheffler was led away.
“Scheffler was then walked to a patrol car and handcuffed behind his back. I was very surprised by what happened. He looked at me, who was handcuffed, and said, ‘Please help me.’ . He had no idea what was going on in the situation. Things moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively,” Darlington said.
“He was held in that police vehicle for about 20 minutes. The police officer at that point had no idea that Scotty Scheffler was a tournament golfer and of course that he was the No. 1 player in the world. I didn’t understand.”
Scheffler was originally scheduled to tee off at 8:48 a.m., but was delayed by an hour and a half as he tried to arrive on the course for Friday’s second round.
It’s unclear whether Scheffler will be ready in time to play in the second round.
Scheffler shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday, putting him five shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.
He surprisingly started the round by holing out from the fairway for eagle.
Scheffler made his long-awaited return to the track on Thursday after the birth of his first child, Bennett, with his wife Meredith.
The two-time Masters champion sat out last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, allowing Rory McIlroy to take home the top prize.
Ahead of the opening round of the PGA Championship, Scheffler spoke about the early moments of parenthood.
“It was a good time at home for me to reflect a little bit on my career and where my life has been heading. I married my high school sweetheart and I’ve always wanted to play professional golf, but right now I’m here. “I was sitting there with my newborn in my arms and my green jacket in the closet, feeling pretty crazy,” he said.
Scheffler, who married wife Meredith in 2020, shared the first images of their newborn son on social media on Monday.
“Welcome to our little world,” Scheffler exclaimed on Instagram. “Your mother and father love you very much.”
