LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top ranked golfer, was extremely classy during a press conference following his arrest on Friday in what appears to be more of “perfect storm” causing a misunderstanding than a criminal action, but we’ll leave that up to the proper authorities to determine.
Scheffler, 27, was arrested outside the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday. Traffic at the golf course had been stopped after a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus around 5 a.m., Law Officer reported.
Unaware of the reason for the traffic backup, the two-time Masters champion was pulling into the course about 5:45 a.m. and waived his credentials as participants had been told in order to avoid the log jam.
However, a police officer tried to get him to stop and began banging on the side of his car, yet he proceeded forward before he realized what was happening.
ESPN journalist Jeff Darlington witnessed the incident and later relayed his perspective while reporting on “SportsCenter.”
“When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer then pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs,” said Darlington.
“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.’ He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation,” Darlington reported.
The officer sustained minor injuries that required treatment, and Scheffler was booked and processed at 7:28 a.m. into metro corrections on four charges — second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officer directing traffic.
Scheffler was released on his own recognizance and returned to Valhalla at about 9:13 a.m. and competed in the second round of the PGA Championship, where he shot a 5-under, 66.
Afterward, he spoke to members of the press and said he holds no ill-will towards the police officers involved. In fact, he actually thanked police personnel for their kindness and praised the efforts of law enforcement officer in America, Outkick reported.
Scheffler began the presser by delivering his condolences to the family of the man who lost his life Friday morning. As he continued, the top ranked golfer in the world demonstrated a level of class and character that make it easy to root for him, despite Friday’s incident.
“The officer that took me to the jail was very kind,” Scheffler said. “We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down.”
Continuing to explain the ordeal, Scheffler complimented the jail personnel and said that an older officer later offered him a sandwich, according to Outkick.
“The officers inside the jail were tremendous. A couple of them made some jokes … when they figured out who I was and what happened and how I ended up there,” Scheffler noted.
“This one older officer looked at me as I was doing my fingerprints or whatever, and he looks at me, and he goes, ‘So do you want the full experience today?’ I kind of looked at him, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how to answer that.’ He’s like, ‘Come on, man, you want a sandwich?’ I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll take a sandwich.'”
Scottie Scheffler was extremely complimentary of the police, despite being arrested on Friday morning. He said one officer even offered him a sandwich.
“I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there.” pic.twitter.com/u0GkqYzMxy
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) May 17, 2024
“I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was,” Scheffler said.
“I’m very grateful for the people that serve all of us across the nation,” he added.
