Police officer hospitalized after incident that led to Scottie Scheffler's arrest
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Scottie Scheffler poses with the winner's trophy after the final round of Masters Tournament in Georgia on April 14. Photo: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
A police officer was hospitalized Friday after being dragged by golfer Scottie Scheffler's vehicle near the site of this year's PGA Championship, in an incident that led to Scheffler's arrest.
Why it matters: Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world, was charged with felony assault on a police officer and three misdemeanors for the incident, which he said was a "big misunderstanding."
- He was released from jail Friday morning and showed up shortly before his second-round tee time at the championship — one of the PGA Tour's four major tournaments of the year.
Driving the news: Roads near the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky were blocked Friday morning after a fatal incident involving a pedestrian, local news reported.
- Scheffler's arrest citation noted that police had closed a road leading to the gold course in both directions and a detective was directing traffic.
- Scheffler, headed eastbound, pulled into the westbound lanes. The detective stopped him and "attempted to give instructions," per the citation.
- Instead, Scheffler "refused to comply and accelerated forward," dragging the detective to the ground and injuring him in the process. The officer was taken to the hospital for further treatment, the citation noted.
- The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
State of play: Scheffler was booked into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections shortly before 7:30 am ET, per The Athletic.
- He faces four charges — second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic, his lawyer told reporters Friday morning.
- Scheffler had been scheduled to tee off his second round at the championship at 8:48 am ET. His tee time was pushed back to 10:08 am ET, per the Washington Post.
- Video showed Scheffler arriving at the course just after 9 am.
What he's saying: In a statement posted to his Instagram story, Scheffler said he had been "proceeding as directed by police officers" amid a chaotic scene.
- "There was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," he 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 added. He also expressed his condolences to the family of the pedestrian killed in the earlier traffic incident.
Editor's note: This story was updated with a statement from Scheffler and new details about the incident.
