Breaking down Scottie Scheffler’s chaotic day at the PGA Championship
Golfweek’s David Dusek is at the PGA Championship in Louisville, KY and recounts the dramatic scenes that played out surrounding world no. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Friday morning, Scottie Scheffler stretched in a jail cell, preparing for a round of golf he didn’t know he’d be able to play.
“I didn’t know what time it was. I didn’t know what was going on,” Scheffler said. “When I was sitting in like the holding cell, there was a TV there, and I could see myself on the TV.”
They’ve said that Scheffler isn’t all that interesting as the world’s No. 1 golfer. They probably won’t anymore.
On a tragic day that’ll go down as one of the strangest in golf history, Scheffler showed up with a jailhouse sandwich in his stomach and shot a cool 5-under-par 66 during Friday’s second round at the 2024 PGA Championship, bringing him to 9 under for the tournament.
Scheffler played in front of a massive, roaring gallery that chanted his name, shouted “Free Scottie” and offered all kinds of references to law enforcement.
It was a bizarre theatre in the aftermath of Scheffler’s stunning arrest Friday at the gates of Valhalla Golf Course following a horrific tragedy earlier in the morning.
John Mills, a tournament worker, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla as he arrived to work at the tournament earlier Friday.
“I don’t think that’s getting talked about enough – or at all,” said golfer Collin Morikawa, who shot a 65 to take the tournament lead at 11 under before the PGA Championship’s 36-hole leader Xander Schauffele teed off in the afternoon.
Scheffler was charged as the result of an incident with a Louisville police officer that occurred as he was driving in to begin warming up for his round. In the citation report, Louisville Police said that Scheffler “refused to comply” with instructions and accelerated his vehicle, injuring an officer in the process.
Scheffler declined to get into the specifics of what led to his arrest except to say, “My situation will get handled. It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.”
News came as a shock to other golfers at Valhalla, since “I mean, Scottie is not one to get into trouble,” said Brian Harman, who played in Scheffler’s group.
“You felt like it was sort of prank or something when you see a mug shot of Scottie,” Schauffele said. “I know Scottie pretty well. … I know he’s a solid guy. There was no malintent by him to anyone.”
Other golfers described problems getting into the course Friday morning. Valhalla has only one entrance, and it is located on a heavily trafficked highway. The PGA sent notification to golfers that Friday’s second round would be delayed after Mills’ death, which led to a larger police presence at the entrance. Some players – like Scheffler – were already on their way to the course.
Austin Eckroat said he got out and walked the final mile-and-a-half, asking his wife to drive the car into the club.
“It was a weird morning,” Eckroat said, “something I’ve never experienced. It was a tragedy followed by a weird incident.”
“I mean, it’s dark. It’s raining. Police lights everywhere,” golfer Harris English said. “It was very strange coming into the course this morning. … We had no idea what was going on. I mean, that could have been any one of us. We’re all taking that same route coming into the club.”
Police handcuffed Scheffler, took him to jail, booked him – and then released him in time to return to Valhalla for his 10:08 a.m. tee time. He would make six birdies and only one bogey. A remarkable performance, given the circumstances.
“I feel like my head is still spinning,” Scheffler said. “… I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times, for sure.”
Scheffler opened his post-round press conference by sending sympathies to Mills’ family: “I can’t imagine what they’re going through.”
As for the arrest, Scheffler said “I was never angry. I was just in shock” and confused at what was transpiring as he was being jailed.
He said the officer who took him was “very kind.” Scheffler said he even asked the officer while waiting at one point if he could “come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?’”
“I was shaking almost, I would say, in shock and in fear,” Scheffler said. “Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind, control my breathing and basically just come down so I could come out here and try to play golf.
“I knew there was going to be a lot of distractions. I didn’t really know what the reception would be like, and to be honest with you, it was great having the fans behind me. They cheered for me really loud. I felt like they were really glad to have me out competing today.”
Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@gannett.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.