The PGA Tour’s top golfer and reigning champion of the Masters was arrested and charged outside the course entrance to the PGA Championship. The charges included felony assault of a police officer.
Scottie Scheffler, the number one-ranked golfer in the world, was arrested in a bizarre incident after refusing to stop at the scene of an accident near the entrance of the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
An ESPN reporter named Jeff Darlington witnessed the incident and said that Scheffler was detained after a “misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club.”
The traffic outside the golf course was stopped because a man was hit and killed by a shuttle bus at around 5 a.m. ET. The PGA Tour announced it would be delaying tee times due to “an accident near the course.”
‘Right now, he’s going to jail, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
According to Darlington, Scheffler was trying to drive around the crash scene on the median, and when a police officer told him to stop, he continued to drive for another 10-20 yards toward the Valhalla Golf Club entrance.
A cop attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car, an ESPN report described, and the officer then yelled at the golfer.
“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,” Darlington wrote on X.
Scheffler, who won the Masters just a month ago, reportedly asked Darlington, “Can you help?” as he was being detained. The officer instructed Darlington to back away.
“You need to get out of the way,” the officer told the sports reporter. “Right now, he’s going to jail, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Scheffler was charged with felony assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, according to local outlet WDRB citing court records.
Shortly after 9 a.m. ET, Scheffler was recorded entering the golf course after his release and was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m.
Scheffler was released and was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim, assumed to be the police officer, or any complaining witness.
His court date is scheduled for May 21, 2024, at the Jefferson District Court.
A spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Police Department told outlets that the deceased man was attempting to cross the road early in the morning when he has hit by a bus in the bus lane. The man reportedly died at the scene.
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