The world's top golf player, Scottie Scheffler, will not be present at an upcoming court hearing for charges related to his shocking arrest during the PGA Championship earlier this month, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 27-year-old Masters champion was taken into custody on May 17 outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, just ahead of the second round of the tournament. Local police accused Scheffler of ignoring an officer who was directing traffic after an unrelated bus accident that killed a pedestrian.
The golfer reportedly thought the commands were coming from club security and drove 10 yards after being told to stop. He was accused of "dragging" Louisville Detective Bryan Gillis with his car, causing Gillis to be hospitalized with "pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee," according to the police report.
Scheffler was booked on four charges: felony second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer, police said.
The Jefferson County Attorney's Office told RadarOnline.com that Scheffler would be absent from a hearing on the matter scheduled for Wednesday, May 29.
"With the agreement of the parties, and with permission of the Court, the defendant will not be present," officials said.
County Attorney Mike O’Connell planned to address the court for the prosecution during the hearing, which was set to begin at 1PM at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
The golfer spoke out about his arrest on Instagram, calling the ordeal a "very chaotic situation."
"There was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," Scheffler wrote. "I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today."
Scheffler's lawyer, Steve Romines, has maintained that his client "never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle."
“It's very simple,” Romines said in a statement last week. “All the evidence that continues to come out continues to support what Scottie said all along – this was a chaotic situation and a miscommunication and he didn't do anything wrong.”
Complicating matters, the Louisville Police Department has confirmed that Detective Gillis was not wearing a body camera during the arrest.
After being released from jail the morning of the incident, Scheffler returned to Valhalla Golf Club with minutes to spare before his tee time and continued to play in the championship. The crowd greeted him with cheers of "Free Scottie” as he teed off a little after 10 AM.
A video of the arrest taken by ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington went viral on social media shortly afterward, and police released footage of the incident last week.
A second-degree assault of a police officer charge carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and $10k in fines.