Scottie Scheffler walks to the driving range ahead of his Friday round at the 2024 PGA Championship. | Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler will tee it up on Friday at Valhalla despite Louisville Police detaining and arresting him hours before his tee time.
Scottie Scheffler is back at Valhalla for the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship.
The world number one arrived roughly 57 minutes before his tee time and will play on Friday, joining Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman at 10:08 a.m. ET on the 10th tee.
At 6:01 a.m. ET this morning, Louisville police arrested and detained Scheffler over a misunderstanding about traffic flow, which stemmed from a fatal accident that took place earlier in the day.
Police then brought him to the station, where they booked Scheffler at 7:28 a.m. ET and had him take a mugshot in an orange jumpsuit. Then, according to the ESPN+ telecast, one of the owners of Valhalla Golf Club, Jimmy Korchdorfer, picked Scheffler up and brought him back to the course upon his release from custody at 8:40 a.m. ET.
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler arrives at the course for his second round.
But before he teed off, Scheffler and his agent released the following statement:
“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,” Scheffler said.
“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 the golf today. Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
Even though police released Scheffler, he still faces four charges: second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer. How he proceeds with those after today remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, Scheffler looks locked in, and reports from the ground indicate that he feels free and loose despite the hectic situation he experienced early Friday.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
