LOUISVILLE, Ky. — World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested by Louisville Metro Police on Friday morning after trying to drive into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club, the site of this week’s PGA Championship.
Traffic outside the golf course had been stopped after a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus around 5 a.m. ET.
Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. The assault charge is a felony; the others are misdemeanors.
Maj. Jason Logsdon of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections told ESPN that Scheffler was released at 8:40 a.m. ET Friday without bail. He arrived at Valhalla less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m. ET.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” Scheffler said in a statement. “It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
According to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, Scheffler was trying to drive around the crash scene on a median. A police officer instructed Scheffler to stop, but Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance.
At one point, an officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car. Scheffler stopped his car as he turned into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club.
After about 20 to 30 seconds, Scheffler rolled down his window to talk to the officer. The officer grabbed Scheffler’s arm to pull him out of the vehicle, according to Darlington. The officer reached inside the vehicle to open the door, and once Scheffler was pulled out, he was pushed against the car and placed in handcuffs.
Darlington was standing at the entrance when Scheffler was detained. Darlington said Scheffler turned to him and asked, “Can you help?”
According to Darlington, an officer instructed him to back away.
“You need to get out of the way,” the officer told Darlington. “Right now, he’s going to jail, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The officer — Det. Bryan Gillis, identified as Det. Gillis in the arrest report — was dragged “to the ground” and suffered “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist” after the car “accelerated forward,” according to the police report.
The officer was dressed in a high visibility reflective jacket when he stopped Scheffler’s car to give instructions, the arrest sheet said. Gillis was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, told ESPN that the golfer attempted to enter Valhalla Golf Club as he had been instructed to earlier, unaware there had been a fatal wreck just up the road.
“He was going into Valhalla to work out,” Romines said. “He was getting ready for his tee time. They were directing traffic. He held his credential out and was going in like they’d been instructed to. Apparently, there had been a traffic accident, maybe even a fatality, down the road, and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that.”
Romines, speaking outside the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, said the officer who attempted to stop Scheffler wasn’t part of the regular event-traffic detail at Valhalla Golf Club, “so that’s where the miscommunication arose.”
“They are allowed to go through, that’s why they have the credential and the wave-through,” Romines said. “[Scheffler] was unaware there had been a wreck, and he proceeded like they’d been instructed to. He did exactly as he was instructed to enter the premises.”
Romines said Scheffler would cooperate fully with police and “we’ll deal with it as it progresses.”
Scheffler, 27, has won four of his past five starts, including his second major championship at the Masters in April.
The start of the second round was delayed after a shuttle bus struck and killed a pedestrian outside Valhalla Golf Club, a spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed to ESPN.
The unidentified man was attempting to cross Shelbyville Road when he was struck in a dedicated lane for buses. Police said the man died at the scene.
“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club,” the PGA of America said in a statement. “This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
Several police and first responders were still at the scene at 6:45 a.m. ET. Traffic had backed up on the roadway in dark and wet conditions, and shuttle buses bringing fans to the golf course had been stopped.
The second round had been scheduled to start at 7:15 a.m. ET.
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