World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has described his arrest just before the start of the second round of the PGA Championship as “a big misunderstanding” with police.
Scheffler kicked off his round four hours after being detained for an incident unrelated to a traffic accident that caused a delay to the start of play at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The start of the round was pushed back by 80 minutes “due to an accident near the course”, according to official tournament communications.
According to ESPN, Scheffler, who was not involved in the accident, attempted to drive around the incident about an hour later, before a police officer grabbed on to the golfer’s car.
ESPN said Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla and exited the car after being prompted by the officer, who placed him in handcuffs.
Video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington appeared to show Scheffler being led away, asking “Can you please help?” before an officer said “right now, he’s going to jail”.
Scheffler released a statement saying the whole thing was “a big misunderstanding” with the police officers directing traffic outside the golf club.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” he said.
“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.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of a man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning.”
Steve Romines, a local attorney reportedly assigned to Scheffler’s case, told local media the Masters champion had been charged with second degree assault of a police officer, third degree criminal mischief, and disregarding traffic signals from an officers directing traffic.
Romines said Scheffler was “unaware that there’d been a wreck” and thought he was allowed to enter Valhalla.
“Scottie will cooperate fully [with the investigation],” Romines said.
The second round was scheduled to start at 7:15am US Eastern Time (9:15pm AEST) with Scheffler initially scheduled to tee off at 10:48pm AEST.
Play was eventually rescheduled for 10:35pm AEST, with Scheffler, five shots behind leader Xander Schauffele, set to tee off just after midnight.
He arrived less than an hour before that rescheduled tee time of 12:08am, about three hours after his arrest, with his usual low-key energy.
The 27-year-old made his way to the driving range to warm-up, fist-bumped by fellow American Rickie Fowler and applauded by fans on the way.
Playing in a group with countrymen Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark, Scheffler was welcomed to the 10th hole with hearty applause and a loud cry of “Love you, Scottie”, before he sent his tee shot just to the right of the fairway.
Scheffler’s morning, while chaotic, came in the wake of a far more serious accident, which he said in his statement “truly puts everything in perspective”.
Per Louisville Metro Police (LMPD), a shuttle bus struck and killed an adult male pedestrian as he was crossing the road near the front gate of the Valhalla course on Friday morning (local time).
“We had a pedestrian that was struck by one of the shuttle buses between gates one and two on Shelbyville Road by Valhalla this morning,” LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell told local station NewsRadio 840 WHAS.
“It’s an unfortunate thing that happened. He was crossing south to north across Shelbyville Road. Unfortunately, the bus didn’t see him and struck the individual.
“He was pronounced dead on the scene and our traffic unit is investigating at this time.”
The PGA of America released a statement saying the person killed was working at the event.
“We were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club,” a statement read.
“This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
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Reuters/ABC
Posted 2h ago2 hours agoFri 17 May 2024 at 12:12pm, updated 45m ago45 minutes agoFri 17 May 2024 at 2:26pm
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