Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was still in contention to win the US PGA Championship, shooting a round of 66 just hours after being arrested and charged by Louisville police.
The world No.1 was arrested on Friday morning on his way to the course, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was taken to jail for not following police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation.
Louisville Metro Police Department said Scheffler was booked on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer after his vehicle dragged an officer to the ground.
He was also booked on charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
In a span of four hours, Scheffler was arrested wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, dressed in an orange jail shirt for his mug shot, returned to Valhalla Golf Club in golf clothes and made his 10:08 am second-round tee time.
Saying that the incident was a “big misunderstanding”, Scheffler then went on to shoot his five-under par round amid cheers and support from the galleries.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” Scheffler said in a statement released as he was warming up on the range.
“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 the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg said tournament vendor John Mills was the pedestrian killed and offered sympathies to his family. Greenberg also said the incident involving Scheffler and LMPD was “unfortunate” and that the police department was investigating.
Police said the pedestrian had been struck by a bus while crossing the road in a lane that was dedicated to tournament traffic and was pronounced dead at the scene about 5:09 a.m.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington witnessed the incident and said Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who was to start the second round at 8:48am, drove past a police officer a little after 6am in his SUV with markings on the door indicating it was a PGA Championship vehicle.
The officer screamed at him to stop and then grabbed onto the car until Scheffler stopped about 10 yards later, Darlington said.
The officer, identified in the arrest report as Detective Gillis, was dragged “to the ground” and suffered “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist” after the car “accelerated forward,” according to Louisville police.
Scheffler was booked at 7:28 a.m. — about two-and-a-half hours before his updated tee time after the second round was delayed because of the fatality.
The officer was dressed in a high visibility reflective jacket when he stopped Scheffler’s car to give instructions, the arrest sheet said. Detective Gillis was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
Darlington said police pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.
“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,’” Darlington said. “He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation. It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively.”
Scheffler, back at the course, seemed unpreturbed, and went out to make a birdie on his first hole of the day after sticking his approach shot to three feet, cheered by fans wearing “Free Scottie!” T-shirts..
* This article was originally published here
