In a shocking incident early Friday morning, Scottie Scheffler was detained by police at Valhalla ahead of the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, and later charged with several criminal offenses.
Darlington, who witnessed the incident, first related details in a tweet and later live on ESPN.
According to Darlington, as Scheffler was driving into the Valhalla parking lot around 6 a.m. ET Friday morning, a police officer attempted to stop Scheffler’s car, but Scheffler continued to drive a short distance. The situation then escalated quickly.
“The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car. When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs,” Darlington wrote on X. “He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”
Darlington joined ESPN’s Sportscenter shortly after the incident, where he shared further details.
“The police officer certainly escalated the situation in terms of wanting Scheffler to stop the vehicle. Scheffler then moved the vehicle, though, forward, and he said that to the police officer, ‘I did continue to move the vehicle,’” Darlington said on ESPN.
He continued, “ So in terms of it wasn’t an escalation as much as it was the police officer making vehemently clear that he wanted Scottie Scheffler to stop the vehicle. Scottie Scheffler did not stop the vehicle for 10-20 yards.”
PGA Championship delayed after vendor ‘struck and killed’ by shuttle bus near Valhalla
Scheffler was reportedly booked in police custody at 7:28 a.m. ET and charged with several offenses, including second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. He was released on his own recognizance shortly thereafter.
The incident involving Scheffler is not related to the “serious accident” that occurred near Valhalla earlier on Friday morning. Tournament officials announced that the second round would be delayed to 8:35 a.m. ET due to the incident, a delay of one hour and 20 minutes. Scheffler’s tee time is 10:08 a.m.
Just after 9:00 a.m. ET, Scheffler showed up at the course after being released from custody, and eventually made his way to the range to prepare for his second round. Shortly thereafter, he released the following statement via a story on his Instagram account:
“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. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.”
The statement continued, “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.”
Scheffler, who is currently the World No. 1, shot a four-under 67 in Thursday’s opening round at Valhalla to get himself in contention in the second major of the year. And it’s a familiar position for him. Scheffler has won four of his last five tournaments, including his second Masters victory at Augusta National in April.
Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, also welcomed their first child just last week.
