It was just as well that a television reporter happened to be there, otherwise it would have been almost impossible to believe.
The world’s number one player arrested, driven off to jail in handcuffs and charged with four offences, including second-degree assault of a police officer, just hours before he was due to tee off in the second round of a major championship?
It sounds fanciful but that was precisely what happened to Scottie Scheffler on a dark, wet morning on day two of the 2024 US PGA Championship, a day which began in tragic circumstances which should not be forgotten.
The start of play had been delayed following a fatal accident near the entrance to Valhalla, with tournament officials expression their “devastation” at the death of local man John Mills, who was working for an on-site vendor at Valhalla.
Mr Mills died after being struck by a shuttle bus around 5am as he attempted to cross Shelbyville Road and it was the traffic jam caused by the accident which Scheffler was attempting to get around when the incident which shocked the sporting world took place.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington was among those stuck in the traffic and described on air how Scheffler had been instructed to stop his car by a police officer, but had continued with the officer “attached” to the vehicle.
Scheffler stopped the car at the club’s entrance, at which point officer Bryan Gillis “opened the car door, pulled Scheffler out, pushed him up against the car [and] immediately placed him in handcuffs,” according to Darlington.
Darlington also posted footage on his account on X, formerly Twitter, in which Scheffler appeared to turn to the reporter and say: “Can you please help me?”
A police officer then tells Darlington: “Right now he’s going to jail and it ain’t nothing you can do about.”
A mugshot of Scheffler was later released by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections, which showed he had been released after an hour and 12 minutes, allowing him to make his delayed tee time.
Remarkably, Scheffler added a 66 to his opening 67, after which he expressed his sympathies to the family of Mr Mills before detailing how he had been “shaking for an hour in shock and fear” and, with no access to his phone, only thought about his tee time when he saw himself on television from his cell.
According to the police report, Detective Gillis had been dragged to the ground by Scheffler’s car, suffering “pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knees”.
Somewhat comically, the report also stated that the uniform trousers worn by Gillis, “valued at approximately 80 dollars, were damaged beyond repair.”
Scheffler’s lawyer certainly did not see the funny side and insisted his client was prepared to go to trial if the charges against him were not dropped, which they were on May 29, 12 days after the incident.
With Detective Gillis having failed to activate his bodycam, Jefferson county attorney Mike O’Connell accepted that Scheffler’s characterisation of the incident as a “big misunderstanding is corroborated by the evidence”.
Whether that misunderstanding played a part in Scheffler’s chances of victory at Valhalla disappearing with a third round of 73 will never be known, but it will certainly go down as one of the strangest days in major championship history.
