LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Scottie Scheffler, the world’s most dominant golfer, rose up the leaderboard of the PGA Championship on Friday, hours after he was arrested while trying to navigate a traffic backup caused by a crash that killed a pedestrian outside Valhalla Golf Club.
In an extraordinary sequence of events over about three hours, Scheffler was handcuffed while arriving at the course before sunrise, booked while wearing an orange jumpsuit in downtown Louisville and driven back to the course with stunned crowds following his every move as his newly hired local lawyer told reporters that he would comply with an investigation into his interaction with a police officer who was directing traffic. Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler’s day on the course finally began at 10:08 a.m. ET, when he teed off nearly four hours after his arrest. He went on to shoot a 5-under-par 66, climbing into a tie for third on the leaderboard. Scheffler, who said he began stretching in a jail cell Friday in hopes of returning to Valhalla in time for his tee time, said after the round his head was “spinning.”
“It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m., according to online court records, two days after the PGA Championship is scheduled to end.
Traffic at the course was snarled Friday morning after a shuttle bus struck and killed John Mills, a worker with one of the PGA of America’s vendors, the association said in a statement. All tee times were delayed an hour and 20 minutes because of the fatal crash, which occurred shortly after 5:07 a.m. ET, according to Louisville Metro Police.
The PGA of America and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in separate statements that their primary concern was with Mills’ family.
“This morning, our city experienced a tragic accident that took the life of John Mills, a Louisvillian who will be greatly missed by his family and our community,” Greenberg said. “I have spoken with members of Mr. Mills’ family to convey our city’s condolences.”
Police said they closed all lanes of traffic while investigating the crash.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who witnessed Scheffler’s arrest, tweeted video of Scheffler in handcuffs being led into a police car, and said that Scheffler attempted to drive around the halted traffic when an officer told him to stop.
In an arrest report, the Louisville Police Department alleged Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward,” and that detective Bryan Gillis was brought to the ground as a result. Gillis, according to the report, suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee, and was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
When Scheffler stopped the car, an officer opened the door to arrest him, Darlington reported. The arrest took place at 6:20 a.m. ET, according to the arrest report.
“While an officer was directing traffic, an encounter with a motorist attempting to make entry into a restricted area ultimately led to the driver being arrested,” John Bradley, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman, said in a statement. “We are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation.”
Scheffler, who said he couldn’t comment on specifics of his arrest, said he was not aware of the fatal crash when he arrived at Valhalla on Friday morning.
“When they got me out of the car — like I said, it was very chaotic, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m just trying to get to my tee time,’” he said. “Outside of that, things escalated from there. I did numerous apologies and whatever, but like I said, it was chaotic, it’s dark, it was raining, there’s a lot of stuff going on. They had just had an accident. I didn’t know what happened at the time, other than there was an accident. I didn’t know that it was fatal.”
He added, “my sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Mills. I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. One day he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament. A few moments later he’s trying to cross the street, and now he’s no longer with us.”
Scheffler, who was booked at 7:28 a.m. and released at 8:40 a.m., said he was fingerprinted and placed into a holding cell, where he started to stretch and warm up in case he could make it back to the golf course in time for his scheduled tee time. He could see ESPN’s “Get Up” on a TV, and kept an eye on the time.
He returned to Valhalla at 9:12 a.m. in a black SUV. Scheffler stepped out of the backseat and immediately entered the clubhouse, with less an hour until his tee time, and was soon on the driving range warming up.
“My body was — I was shaking,” Scheffler said. “I would say in shock and in fear. Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind, control my breathing.”
(Courtesy Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections)
Scheffler did not comment on his charges, other than to say his situation would be “handled.” Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, told Louisville television station WHAS that Scheffler will “cooperate fully” with police. He said the officer directing traffic might not have been part of the tournament’s traffic detail.
“That’s where the miscommunication arose and that’s why we’re here,” he told reporters, adding he will “litigate the case as it comes.”
The PGA of America also said it is “fully cooperating” as Louisville police review the incident with Scheffler.
Conditions were dark and wet Friday morning at the time of Scheffler’s arrest, and the traffic stoppage caused some other golfers to choose to leave their vehicles and walk onto the property. The first golfers teed off at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Scheffler, the defending Masters champion and winner of four of his last five starts, entered Friday tied for 12th place.
— Ben Burrows contributed to this story.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)