Scottie Scheffler handcuffed, arrested and charged after PGA traffic incident

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has been handcuffed and detained by police in the back of a patrol car following a ‘misunderstanding’ ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.

According to reporter Jeff Darlington, the Masters champion attempted to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club on Friday, seemingly unaware of traffic management measures that had been put in place following a fatal accident earlier in the morning.

Tee times for the second round of the second men’s major of the season had been delayed by at least one hour after an adult male pedestrian was killed following a collision with a shuttle bus. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene.

That news, however, clearly failed to reach Scheffler in time for his arrival at the course, leading to this quite extraordinary development.

Live footage on ESPN showed Scheffler being led into a patrol car, with his hands in handcuffs behind his back.

Darlington tweeted: “World No.1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club.

“The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. 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.

“He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”

Scottie Scheffler arrest timeline

12.06pm (all times UK)

It appears Scheffler is being taken to jail!

12.15pm

Min Woo Lee weighs in…

12.16pm

We have footage!

Click here to view.

12.28pm

Jeff Darlington, who broke this story, has the wildest footage you will ever seen.

Click here to watch.

1.18pm

Scottie Scheffler’s mugshot has just appeared on the Louisville Department of Corrections website.

1.26pm

Nick Dougherty and Sky Sports reporting that Scheffler has been booked and released. Unclear if he will continue in the PGA Championship. His caddie Ted Scott is reportedly at the course.

1.30pm

A local media outlet is reporting that Scheffler is facing the following charges:
– 2nd-deg assault of a police officer
– 3rd-deg criminal mischief
– Reckless driving
– Disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic

1.32pm

Scheffler’s re-scheduled tee time is 3.08pm (UK). Unclear if he’s going to be there or not.

1.56pm

Sky Sports is reporting that Scheffler will be arriving at the golf club in the next few minutes. His tee time is just over an hour away.

2.04pm

Graeme McDowell on X:

“Most tour players can relate to trying to navigate around traffic getting into courses at massive tournaments (and no, not a problem we have at LIV events much)(yes, because we don’t get large crowds yet). I’d imagine the police were on high alert with the fatality, assuming timing was similar. Emotions would have been running high. Crazy stuff. If he shoots 65 today just go ahead and give him the trophy.”

2.14pm

Scottie Scheffler has arrived on site at Valhalla Golf Club following his arrest. Still awaiting confirmation that he’ll play his second round.

2.37pm

Scheffler is on the range and warming up. It looks like he is a go!

3.01pm

Brian Harman, one of Scheffler’s playing partners, just said this on Sky Sports: “Just a wild morning. I don’t know all the details but knowing Scottie, I know he’s one of hell of a dude and I’m glad he’s able to continue to play. He’s a joy to be around.”

3.08pm

Scheffler has issued a statement following his arrest this morning. You can read that here. In the meantime, he is, remarkably, off and running in the second round of the PGA Championship.

4.59pm

While Scheffler is out on the course, his arraignment has been set for Tuesday morning at 9am local time.

6.45pm

The PGA of America has released a statement: “Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who lost his life in a tragic accident early this morning while reporting to work. As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place. While the legal process plays out, questions should to be directed to Scheffler’s attorney or local authorities.”

Further news on this story will be covered elsewhere on bunkered.co.uk and on our social media channels.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor