Scottie Scheffler arrested Friday morning ahead of PGA Championship Round 2
Scottie Scheffler was arrested early Friday morning in Louisville outside of Valhalla Golf Club ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.
Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, was booked and later released. He's due to play in the second round of the PGA Championship.
What did Scottie Scheffler get charged with?
Scheffler was arrested and booked on a second-degree charge of assaulting a police officer, a third-degree charge of criminal mischief, a charge of reckless driving and for disregarding signals from officers who were directing traffic. The assault charge is a felony. The other charges are misdemeanors.
Scheffler reportedly tried to drive into Valhalla Golf Club while police were working a crash scene where a man was fatally struck by a shuttle bus near the golf course earlier in the morning. Scheffler reportedly tried to drive around the scene on a median when an officer instructed him to stop, and the golfer continued to drive toward the club entrance.
At one point, an officer attached himself to Scheffler's car. When Scheffler did stop, officers forced him out of the car and arrested him. ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported that Scheffler said "please help me" after he was placed in handcuffs and that the situation developed "very quickly, very rapidly" and "very aggressively."
Later, he gave his official statement to Darlington.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
Was Scottie Scheffler released?
Scheffler was released and was eventually able to make it to Valhalla for the second round of the PGA Championship. His initial tee time was 8:48 a.m. ET, but all tee times were delayed an hour and 20 minutes because of the death on Friday. He arrived on the course at 9:12 a.m., less than an hour before his new tee time of 10:08 a.m. ET or 9:08 CT.
In case Scheffler isn't ready to play as his tee time rolls around, rule 5.3a in the Rules of Golf states that “When to Start Round” lists “Exception 3 — Committee Decides that Exceptional Circumstances Prevented You from Starting on Time.” Under this provision, there is no breach of rule and no penalty.
This story is developing and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Scottie Scheffler arrested Friday ahead of PGA Championship Round 2
