Well, these are words I never thought I’d write: Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer who is currently trying to win his third major championship, has been arrested and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic outside of Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
Scheffler is currently four strokes back from the lead at the PGA Championship and was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m. ET from hole 10. Instead, he was put in handcuffs and booked at Louisville Metro Corrections at 7:28 a.m.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, an eyewitness on the scene, reports a “misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club.” From there, the officer “attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla” where the officer “then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.”
“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car,” Darlington said at the time, including video.
The incident comes after the start of the tournament was delayed after a pedestrian was tragically hit and killed by a shuttle bus on Shelbyville Road outside the entrance to Valhalla around 5 a.m. ET., temporarily suspending shuttles and closing the road during the investigation.
WDRB is reporting Scheffler, who was arriving for his previously scheduled tee time of 8:48 a.m., refused to stop and “continued to drive and dragged the officer with his car for a short time,” leading to minor injuries for the officer.
He has since been released on his own recognizance and ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim or complaining witness, per WDRB, and is now on his way back to the course in hopes of continuing on at the PGA Championship. Coming in as the favorite to win his third major, Scheffler is currently tied for 12th at -4.
“He was going into Valhalla to work out and get ready for his tee time, they were directing traffic. He held his credential out and was going in as they had been instructed to — there had been a traffic accident and maybe even a fatality down the road. That had changed the traffic pattern and he was unaware of that. The officer that was directing traffic was maybe not a part of the event traffic detail, that’s where the miscommunication arose. That’s why we’re here. … They are allowed to go through, that’s why they have the credentials to be waved through, unaware that there had been a wreck. He proceeded like he was instructed to. … We’ll just let it all play out, that is the extent of what we know. It’s moving pretty fast at this time,” his attorney, Steve Romines — a friend of the program — told media upon his release.
10:08 a.m. ET remains his scheduled tee time. Will he make it? And how will he respond? The entire world is watching with the city of Louisville dealing with yet another black eye.
Hard to imagine the PGA is pleased with how things are going at Valhalla.
Ansley Almonor commits to Kentucky
On a lighter note, Mark Pope added another key piece on Thursday in Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor.
A 3-point specialist set to man backup stretch four duties, the 6-7 forward averaged 16.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 32 minutes per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from deep (on 7.4 attempts), and 80 percent from the line in 2023-24 for the Knights.
His junior campaign resulted in First Team All-NEC honors, ending his time at FDU with 1,097 career points while his 93 three-point makes this past season were the most in the conference and tied for the most in a single season in program history.
There are now two scholarship spots remaining for the Wildcats as Pope looks to round out his roster.
Sources Say breaks down the latest on Kentucky’s roster
Where do things stand up to this point? And where will those final scholarship spots go? We know Pope and his staff are pushing for either Jaxson Robinson (BYU), Chaz Lanier (North Florida) or Wooga Poplar (Miami) for at least one of them — maybe two? The Sources Say Podcast breaks down Kentucky’s recent additions and what needs to happen to close things out and put a bow on the roster.
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