UPDATE: 8:59 A.M.
(Reuters) -World number one Scottie Scheffler was released by police on Friday and arrived at the PGA Championship less than an hour before his second round tee time after being arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer en route to the tournament.
Masters champion Scheffler was detained in handcuffs after a misunderstanding of traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer and into the Valhalla Golf Club around 6:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), ESPN reported.
The start to the second round had been delayed due to what tournament organizers called a “serious accident” near Valhalla that forced a change to traffic patterns in the area.
“I think the officer that was directing traffic was maybe not part of the event traffic detail and so that’s where the miscommunication arose,” said Steve Romines, a local attorney hired on Scheffler‘s behalf.
According to an ESPN report a police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler‘s car and then the Masters champion stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla.
ESPN also said the police officer then yelled at Scheffler to get out of the car, and when he did he shoved the golfer against the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.
Scheffler was later charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer.
After arriving at Valhalla under a steady rain, Scheffler was greeted by plenty of encouragement from the fans and headed straight to the driving range.
Scheffler, who is seeking his fifth win in six starts and a second consecutive major, is five shots back of overnight leader Xander Schauffele and scheduled to begin his second round at 10:08 a.m. ET.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)
(Reuters) -World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police for an incident unrelated to an accident that caused a delay to the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, ESPN reported.
According to the ESPN report, Scheffler was detained in handcuffs after a misunderstanding of traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into the entrance at Valhalla ahead of the second round.
The ESPN report also said a police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler‘s car and then the Masters champion stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla.
According to the report, the police officer then yelled at Scheffler to get out of the car, and when he did shoved the golfer against the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.
A video posted online that was not verified by Reuters shows one police officer leading Scheffler to a police car while another says to a camera: “Right now, he’s going to jail, he’s going to jail and there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Period.”
The start of the second round, which was supposed to begin at 7:15 a.m. ET (1115 GMT) had already been delayed after what tournament officials described as a “serious accident near the course.”
ESPN, citing a spokesperson from the Louisville Metro Police Department, said a shuttle bus struck and killed a pedestrian outside Valhalla.
Scheffler, who is five shots back of overnight leader Xander Schauffele, was scheduled to tee off in his second round at 8:48 am ET (1248 GMT).
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)
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