Scottie Scheffler was detained by Louisville police and handcuffed by officers 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 the scene involving Scheffler and the police unfolded “very quickly, very rapidly and very aggressively” on the ESPN broadcast.
Scheffler, 27, was booked before 7:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections.
The situation, which occurred around 5:45 a.m. in the pitch dark, was all due to a misunderstanding over traffic flow.
Scheffler was trying to get around traffic caused by a fatal accident involving a shuttle bus near the course.
As Scheffler was pulling into the course, the police officer started banging on the side of the car to get him to stop.
“When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer then pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs,” Darlington said on “SportsCenter.”
Darlington noted that Scheffler’s car was a player courtesy vehicle and the standard one players use to access the course.
A police officer told Darlington that Scheffler “is going to jail” and PGA security was not allowed access to Scheffler as he was being taken away.
“Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs. Very stunned about what was happening. Looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me.’ He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation — it moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively,” Darlington said.
“He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament nor, of course, that he is the No. 1 player in the world.”
Scheffler, who was initially scheduled to tee off at 8:48 a.m., was trying to get to the course for Friday’s second round, which has been delayed by an hour and a half.
Scheffler shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday to put him five shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.
He amazingly started his round by holing out for an eagle from the fairway.
Scheffler was making his anticipated return to the circuit Thursday following the birth of his first child with wife Meredith, a baby boy named Bennett.
The two-time Masters winner missed the Wells Fargo Championship last week, with Rory McIlroy taking the top prize.
Ahead of the opening round of the PGA Championship, Scheffler spoke about the early moments of parenthood.
“At home it was a nice time to reflect a little bit on my career so far and where my life has gone. I married my high school sweetheart and I always wanted to play professional golf, and now I’m here. I was sitting there with a newborn in my arms and the green jacket in the closet. A pretty insane feeling,” he said.
Scheffler, who married Meredith in 2020, shared the first image of his newborn son Monday on social media.
“Welcome to the world little one,” Scheffler gushed on Instagram. “Your mom & dad love you so much.”
