Scottie Scheffler looks on while playing the 15th hole during the third round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 20, 2024 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, Ken. - Golfer Scottie Scheffler was reportedly detained by police while trying to get into Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday morning.
ESPN reports that Scheffler was trying to drive around the scene of a deadly crash involving a shuttle bus in Louisville, Kentucky.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington said that Scheffler did not stop after police told him to, which escalated into an officer pulling the world's current No.1 golfer out of his car and placing him in handcuffs.
"You need to get out of the way," the officer reportedly told Darlington. "There's nothing you can do. Scottie Scheffler is going to jail."
Court records show that Scheffler is facing charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, which is a felony, along with third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.
(Jefferson County Jail)
Scottie Scheffler releases statement about arrest
Scheffler was scheduled to tee off for the second round of the tournament at 8:48 a.m. The tournament was already delayed by more than an hour after the deadly crash, which reportedly happened around 5 a.m. outside the golf club.
On Instagram, the golfer released a statement saying describing the situation on Friday morning as "chaotic."
"There was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," he wrote. "I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today."
He said that he and everyone else involved in the tournament expressed their sympathies to the family of the man killed in the crash.
"It truly puts everything in perspective," he wrote.
Scheffler, who welcomed his first son with his wife Meredith this month, is currently tied for 12th.