World number one Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police for reportedly attempting to get around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident near Valhalla.
The start of play in the second round of the US PGA Championship was delayed following an accident in which a pedestrian died after being struck by a shuttle bus, according to Louisville Metro Police Department.
Scheffler was attempting to get to the course to prepare for his round when he was detained.
A mugshot of Scheffler was later released by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections, which later showed he had been released after an hour and 12 minutes.
According to ESPN, he was charged with second degree assault of a police officer, third degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler was shown arriving at the course just after 9am local time.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, said on air: “Traffic had been backed up and building, Scottie Scheffler tried to enter Valhalla Golf Club using a side median, at which point a police officer instructed him to stop.
“Scheffler attempted to continue to go, the police officer then attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
“Scheffler stopped the vehicle as he turned into Valhalla Golf Club at the entrance, about 10 to 20 yards from the point at which the police officer first told him to stop.
“At that point the police officer instructed Scheffler to get out of the car.
“He rolled down the window, the police officer grabbed his arm and started pulling at it. He reached inside, opened the car door, pulled Scheffler out, pushed him up against the car, immediately placed him in handcuffs.”
Scheffler, who has won four of his last five events, is competing at Valhalla after three weeks off as he awaited the arrival of his first child. His wife gave birth to son Bennett last week.
UPDATE
Round 2 of the 2024 PGA Championship is delayed due to an accident near the course.
The next update will be at 7 a.m. ET. #PGAChamp
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 17, 2024
He made a remarkable start to round one by holing his second shot to the opening hole from 167 yards for an eagle, eventually carding a four-under-par 67.
That left him five shots behind compatriot Xander Schauffele, whose 62 equalled the lowest round in men’s major championship history.
LMPD had earlier released a statement on the traffic accident.
“About 5:00 this morning, the LMPD responded to a call of a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian and a bus,” the statement read.
“Our preliminary investigation found that an adult male pedestrian was crossing Shelbyville Road south to north when he was struck by a shuttle bus that was travelling eastbound in the compulsory centre lane dedicated for buses.
“As a result, the pedestrian received fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene. The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating.”
The incident led to speculation that Scheffler might not play his second round, although Sky Sports Golf pundit Dame Laura Davies hopes the decision on his ongoing participation would be down to him.
The former women’s world number one also said it had been “chaos” at Valhalla and feels the incident involving Scheffler was a “genuine mistake”.
She said: “I hope if he doesn’t play, it’s his decision because the whole incident with losing the pedestrian – that’s terrible for everyone involved with the PGA Championship this week. I hope it’s not because he’s detained by the police and he can’t actually get here.
“It’s an extraordinary situation. I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t accept it as a genuine mistake. It was chaos. There were 50 police cars at the gate where we come in on our bus. You wouldn’t have known what you were doing at the time.
“As golfers, you’re thinking, ‘Right, I need to get there, I’ve got my tee time’. The delay hadn’t been set at that point, so you have to get there as soon as you can.
“I’m sure he wasn’t giving it the, ‘I’m Scottie Scheffler’ card. He just wanted to get in. It was a genuine mistake and let’s just hope sense prevails.
“But if Scottie’s upset by it enough, he doesn’t have to play and that would be the only way I wouldn’t want to see him play today.”
Dame Laura added: “It’s one of those situations where only he knows if he can handle going and playing that golf course with everything that’s happened in the last two hours, and to be in a police station…
“He’s just got the new baby, he might just want to go home, see his wife, his new baby and just draw a line under what’s happened to him – not the pedestrian that was knocked over, that’s obviously a completely separate issue.
“But hopefully he plays. We want him to play.”
Fellow pundit Wayne Riley said some players had questioned whether or not the day’s play should go ahead in the wake of the fatality.
Riley told Sky Sports Golf: “So many players have said to me, ‘I can’t believe they’re actually playing today’. I’m getting that vibe, I’m getting a lot of vibe that people sare saying, ‘Someone’s lost their life here today, Scottie has been taken away, and it is one of those, do we go into Monday?
“That is not happening, we’re continuing with the second round of the PGA Championship.”
