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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After warming up for the second round of the PGA Championship in a jail cell, Scottie Scheffler shot a five-under-par 66 at Valhalla Golf Club.
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In one of the strangest days in major championship history, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was arrested on his way to the golf course but released in time to stay in contention heading to the weekend in Louisville, Ky.
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“I feel like my head is still spinning. I can’t really explain what happened this morning,” Scheffler said as video of his arrest played on a monitor above him in what was possibly the most bizarre post-round press conference in golf history. “I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. That was part of my warmup.
“I was just sitting there waiting and I started going through my warmup, I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come out here and play.”
That’s exactly what happened as Scheffler was released from jail after being charged with four offences from an early morning incident with police on his way to the course. Following a fatal accident involving a pedestrian and a shuttle bus outside the gates of the course, Scheffler allegedly attempted to circumvent traffic in his courtesy car. Scheffler said he didn’t know that a fatal accident had taken place at the time of the incident.
Monday Morning Golf
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“My situation will get handled. It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding. I can’t comment on any of the specifics of it … but my situation will be handled. It was just a big misunderstanding,” he said. “My heart goes out to the family.”
Scheffler somehow managed to not only play golf, but shoot one stroke better than he did in Thursday’s opening round. The Masters champion will head to the weekend at nine-under with a chance to win the first two legs of the single-season grand slam.
“I started going through my routine and I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today, but like I said, I still feel like my head is spinning a little bit. But I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.”
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Scheffler made six birdies against a single bogey in a round that can only add to his reputation as an unflappable competitor. Although the 27-year-old Texan and new father says he was plenty unnerved by the incident.
“I was pretty rattled to say the least,” he said. “The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down. … I was never angry. I was just in shock, my body was just — I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me.
Scheffler said he could see ESPN on the television from his jail cell and saw the news of his arrest on the screen.
“I was just so confused at what was happening at the time,” he said.
“This one older officer looked at me as I was doing my fingerprints or whatever, and he looks at me and he goes, ‘So do you want the full experience today?’ I kind of looked at him, and I was like, I don’t know how to answer that. He’s like, ‘Come on, man, you want a sandwich?’ I was like, Sure, I’ll take a sandwich. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I mean, they were really kind. I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was.”
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Scheffler said he didn’t attempt to explain who he was to the arresting officer and that the situation escalated very quickly. He explained that shock and fear were the only emotions he felt, but that it never crossed his mind to withdraw from the tournament if he could manage to make it to his tee time.
Once back at the golf course, the two-time major champion had plenty of support from the Louisville fans who chanted his name on both his first and last holes of the day. By the end of his round their were already spectators in attendance wearing t-shirts adorned with the golfer’s mug shot.
“It was really nice. The fans were tremendous today. I felt like they were cheering extra loud for me,” he said. “I know sometimes you can’t really see it on my face, but I really do enjoy playing in front of the fans. The support I’ve been getting the last few months out here has been tremendous, and I’m really grateful for it.”
Several times throughout the press conference Scheffler re-iterated his condolences to the family of accident victim John Mills and closed with further remarks in support of the Louisville police.
“I’m very grateful for the people that serve all of us across the nation,” he 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.”
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2024-05-17 21:56:01Z
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