The top-ranked golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, claims he was “rattled” and “in shock” when police charged and arrested him this morning.
Around 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. UK time) on Friday, the 27-year-old allegedly attempted to avoid a traffic bottleneck brought on by a fatal accident close to the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
He faces charges of second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, careless driving, and disobeying traffic-directing officers’ signals. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
After being freed this morning at 8:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. UK time), Scheffler was able to play his second round of the PGA Championship, where he is currently two strokes behind the lead.
Following his round, Scheffler spoke with media and stated, “It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.” My mind is still whirling.
For the first time in my life, I warmed up in a detention cell.
“To put it mildly, I was fairly rattled… I was merely shocked; I was never upset. For around sixty minutes, I was trembling.
“It was obviously difficult to come out here and try to play today, but I tried my best to calm my thoughts, regulate my breathing, and just try to play golf.
“To be honest, having the support of my fans was fantastic, but I knew there would be a lot of distractions. They were genuinely happy to see me competing here today, in my opinion.”
Scheffler was wearing an orange jumpsuit that was provided to him by the jail when police earlier released a mugshot of him.
A guy was killed in a deadly incident that happened this morning when a bus hit him while he was crossing the street close to the Valhalla Golf Club’s front gate.
The death of local citizen John Mills, who was employed by a Valhalla on-site vendor, shocked the tournament authorities, who described themselves as “devastated”.
Scheffler, who was not in the collision, is said to have been attempting to avoid the scene of the accident when he failed to stop for a police officer.
Then, according to reports, Scheffler’s car was confiscated by a police.
Based to reports from ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington who was on the scene, the golfer drove about 10 to 20 yards before pulling over at the Valhalla entrance.
Mr. Darlington goes on, saying, “Scheffler was then told to exit the vehicle by the policeman.
“As he rolled down the window, the policeman caught hold of his arm and began to tug. He rushed inside, unlatched the car door, yanked Scheffler outside, pressed him up against the vehicle, and handcuffed him right away.”
A detective “attempted to give instruction” after stopping Scheffler’s vehicle, according to the police report.
The report went on to say that the subject “accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground, and refused to comply.” Detective Gillis’s left wrist and knees sustained abrasions, swelling, and soreness.
“Emergency medical staff brought him to the hospital for additional medical care. The uniform pants belonging to Detective Gillis, which were estimated to be worth $80, were irreparably destroyed.
Scheffler’s lawyer, Steve Romines, released a statement in which he claimed that his client ignored another officer’s signals “in the confusion” while following a traffic officer’s instructions.
“Multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed that he did not do anything wrong but was simply proceeding as directed,” said the statement.
“He never once attacked an officer with his car; instead, he stopped right away when told to. If necessary, we will take this case to court.”
Speaking following a second round that saw him fall two strokes short of Collin Morikawa’s clubhouse lead, Scheffler offered his condolences to Mr. Mills’ family.
Scheffler remarked, “I have no idea what they’re going through this morning.”
“It will be handled for me… My heart goes out to the family; I can’t even begin to explain what happened.”
