New bodycam footage from Scottie Scheffler’s arrest last month at the PGA Championship has been released by the Louisville Police Department, with one officer asking Scheffler in a police car: “Is Tiger as good as they say he is?”
The videos come after four charges from the incident — second-degree assault of a police officer, which is a felony; third-degree criminal mischief; reckless driving; and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic — were dropped on May 29. The incident in question happened when a police investigation into a pedestrian fatality and ensuing traffic jam wreaked havoc outside Valhalla Golf Club early on the Friday morning of PGA Championship week. According to the police report, Scheffler attempted to bypass the backup by pulling around the congestion into an adjacent lane, where Detective Bryan Gillis was directing traffic. Gillis said that he stopped Scheffler and attempted to give him instructions, but that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging (him) to the ground,” and Gillis arrested Scheffler moments later.
Twelve days later, Scheffler was exonerated in a Louisville court room when Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, the lead prosecutor in the investigation, told a judge that after he and his team reviewed the evidence against Scheffler, they found no probable cause to pursue the charges.
The video footage started to circulate on Friday afternoon, and below are five videos, shared by Bryan Armen Graham, a reporter with the Guardian. Below each video is some of what was said.
Louisville police have just released a fresh batch of bodycam footage from Scottie Scheffler's arrest outside last month's PGA Championship. pic.twitter.com/hzh1aiOutk
This video appeared to be recorded during the moments Scheffler was arrested.
Scheffler: “Sir, I’m terribly sorry.”
Officer: “OK, keep your hand back there.”
Scheffler: “I’m just trying to get to my tee time. I’m shaking.”
Scheffler: “Guys, I’ll keep my arms back there, I promise.”
Scheffler: “I’m about to get arrested. I’m trying to get to a tee time.”
Scheffler: “He did tell me to stop, and as I went by, he grabbed my arm and I was afraid; I couldn’t tell he was a police officer.”
Here, it appeared that ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington tried to intervene, but was told to back away. Scheffler was then taken to a car.
Scheffler: “Are we able to just talk for a second?”
Officer: “Do you have a wallet on you?”
Scheffler: “All my stuff’s in there — my player badge, my wallet, my phone.”
Officer: “Have you been drinking anything, or you got mouthwash?”
Scheffler: “Mouthwash.”
Officer: “That’s it?”
Scheffler: “Yeah, I woke up about a half-hour ago.”
Here, it appeared that the officer started to talk to Gillis, who said he was OK and declined Emergency Medical Services treatment. Notably, the last four seconds of the video were muted.
The arresting officer doesn't seem to know he's got the world No 1 golfer in bracelets: "So I assume you're pretty good if you're playing in the PGA. Is Tiger as good as they say he is?” pic.twitter.com/A8q3RyaDRC
This video appeared to be recorded from inside a police car as it was moving. Here, the officer asked Scheffler about his career.
Officer: “So how long have you been playing golf to get to this?”
Scheffler: “Since I was probably 2 or 3.”
Officer: “Goodness gracious.”
Scheffler: “Yeah, I’ve been on Tour now, this is my fifth year. No, sixth year. I turned pro after I graduated college in 2018, and then I played the mini-tours for a summer, then I played — what sports do you like?”
Officer: “I’m not really a sports fan.”
Scheffler: “I was going to say, I played like the minor leagues equivalent for a year and then I made it out to the PGA Tour.”
Officer: “Yeah, it’s amazing honestly. How old are you now?”
Scheffler: “Twenty-seven.”
Officer: “You’re 27 and you’re freaking playing the PGA?”
Here, Scheffler told the officer that he had just had his first kid, and the officer congratulated him.
– "What are the odds I'm going to be able to play golf today? 1%?" – "Who's your lawyer?” pic.twitter.com/w2aXIMijM4
This video also appeared to be recorded from inside a police car as it was moving. Here, Scheffler wondered whether he’d be able to play on Friday.
Scheffler: “So what are the odds you think I’m going to be able to play golf today? About one percent?”
Officer: “Man, I don’t — who’s your lawyer?”
Scheffler: “His name’s Danny.”
Officer: “OK, yeah, I’d call Danny as soon as you get in there, man. I haven’t looked at your paperwork to even think of giving you an answer. Because I’m not doing it, so I don’t know. I don’t know what you’re charged with. But if I had to guess, I would say no. But that’s me. That’s just me guessing. But then again, we work in Jefferson County and stranger things have happened.”
Here, Scheffler told the officer about how Rory McIlroy had received a police escort in order to make his final-day tee time at the 2012 Ryder Cup. Scheffler also told the officer how he played golf two years ago with former President Donald Trump.
"You're too casual to be the number one player in the world. You should have had a driver.” pic.twitter.com/AmQUvOkZJi
This video appeared to be recorded from inside the police station. Here, the officer admitted he had just learned that Scheffler was ranked No. 1 in the world.
Scheffler: “I opened up my phone to see if my wife woke up.” [He showed the officer the phone.]
Officer: “Ohhhh. I didn’t know you were the No. 1 in the world right now. That’s why all the news was there. … He’s the No. 1 player in the world.”
Second officer: “Who is?”
Here, the first officer pointed at Scheffler.
Second officer: “For golf?”
First officer: “You’re too casual to be the No 1 player in the world. … You should have had a driver. You should have been the one with the police escort we were talking about.”
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
