Scheffler handles chaos like a champ
Arrest can't stop world No. 1's momentum; his response lifts Scottie to new level
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When the story of Scottie Scheffler’s hall-of-fame career is ultimately written, Friday, May 17, 2024, will go down as the date that Scheffler fully arrived. He’s already been great as a golfer. That much is indisputable. But in one blurry day that started with tragedy, raced through confusion and ended with a 13-minute display of grace, maturity and candor, Scheffler became something golf fans had yet to emotionally bestow upon him — an embraced superstar.
Scottie Scheffler arrives for his Friday tee time (Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
World No. 1 Scheffler spent Friday morning in handcuffs and a jail cell. He was shaking and his head was swimming. The most straight-laced and buttoned-up golfer in the world was facing felony assault charges against a police officer just a few hours before his scheduled tee time in the PGA Championship. The last thing he thought he’d be doing was playing golf later in the morning, much less shoot a 5-under 66 to climb to third on the leaderboard and then deliver the most revealing press conference of his young career.
It was a master class in communication that started off in exactly the right place — on a man working security for the tournament who died crossing busy Shelbyville Road before dawn trying to get to his post.
“First of all, my sympathies go out to the family of Mr. (John) Mills,” Scheffler said of the pedestrian who was killed outside of the front entrance to Valhalla Golf Club that prompted the traffic issues that ultimately led to Scheffler’s arrest. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. One day he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament. A few moments later he’s trying to cross the street, and now he’s no longer with us. I can’t imagine what they're going through. My heart – I feel for them. I’m sorry.”
Only then did Scheffler mention his “situation.”
“My situation will get handled. It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding,” he said. “I can’t comment on any of the specifics of it, so I feel like y’all are going to be disappointed.”
Scheffler did not disappoint. He opened up about being arrested and hand-cuffed and booked and finger-printed and charged and getting a sandwich and seeing himself on TV in an orange jailhouse jumpsuit and going through his pre-tournament stretching routine in a Jefferson County Jail holding cell on the off chance that the chaos of his morning might be resolved.
“I feel like my head is still spinning,” he said. “I can’t really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. … 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.”
After being released on his own recognizance after receiving four charges including felony second-degree assault on a police officer, Scheffler arrived back at Valhalla at 9:11 am – just under and hour before his 10:08 a.m. tee time that had been delayed 1 hour, 20 minutes due to the traffic jam caused by the pre-dawn fatal accident outside the gate.
Despite a truncated warm-up, Scheffler teed off on time, missing his drive in the right rough. After laying up into the fairway, he nearly holed out from 92 yards a day after holing out from 100 yards for eagle on his opening hole of the PGA Championship. He settled for an easy birdie.
He then bogeyed the 11th, the only blemish on his card before birdies at 12, 18, 2, 4 and 7 added up to a 5-under 66 – his 42nd consecutive official round of par or better. He walked off the course tied with first-round leader Xander Schauffele for third, two shots behind clubhouse leader Collin Morikawa as Schauffele was getting ready to start his second round.
“It probably took a few holes to feel normal,” he said.
“It was kind of nice just to be out there inside the ropes competing. It’s one of my favorite things in the world to do, so I was fortunate to be able to come out here and do it again today.”