Scottie Scheffler was detained and handcuffed by Louisville police outside Valhalla Golf Club on Friday before the second round of the PGA Championship, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, who saw the incident. Darlington described the scene involving Scheffler and the police unfolded "very quickly, very rapidly and very aggressively" on the ESPN broadcast.
The scary situation occurred around 5:45 a.m. in complete darkness, primarily due to a major misunderstanding over traffic flow. In one remarkable footage that flooded social media, the World No. 1 golfer was seen being led into a police car in handcuffs as he tried to enter the club before his second round of the PGA Championship.
Handcuffed and Taken Away
"Can you please help me?" a panicked Scheffler could be heard asking a nearby reporter in the stunning clip. Scheffler was attempting to navigate around traffic caused by a fatal accident involving a shuttle bus near the course.
As Scheffler was pulling into the course, a police officer began banging on the side of his car to get him to stop.
"When he didn't stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer then pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs," Darlington said on "SportsCenter."
Darlington noted that Scheffler's car was a player courtesy vehicle, the standard one used by players to access the course.
A police officer told Darlington that Scheffler "is going to jail," and PGA security was not allowed access to Scheffler as he was being taken away.
"Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs. Very stunned about what was happening. Looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, 'Please help me.' He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation — it moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively," Darlington said.
"He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament nor, of course, that he is the No. 1 player in the world."
Out of Panic
Scheffler, who was initially scheduled to tee off at 8:48 a.m., was trying to reach the course for Friday's second round, which has been delayed by an hour and a half.
It is unclear if Scheffler will make it back in time to play the second round.
On Thursday, Scheffler shot a 4-under 67, placing him five shots behind leader Xander Schauffele. He remarkably started his round by holing out for an eagle from the fairway.
Scheffler made his anticipated return to the circuit on Thursday following the birth of his first child with his wife Meredith, a baby boy named Bennett.
The two-time Masters winner missed the Wells Fargo Championship last week, with Rory McIlroy taking the top prize.
