Scottie Scheffler said the events that led to his arrest and being charged by police arose from a “big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do”.
The World No.1 was detained by Louisville Police, detained, and booked following an alleged alteration in the early hours of Friday morning as he was driving to Valhalla ahead of his second round at the PGA Championship.
Earlier, a fatal accident following a collision between a vendor and a shuttle bus, had led to traffic restrictions and delayed the start of play.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported Scheffler was arrested after driving past a police officer and he now faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third degree mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler was released and then travelled to Valhalla to prepare for his second round. He is due to appear at the Kentucky Court of Justice at 9am Eastern Time on May 21.
After his arrival at the course, he released a statement via his instagram account.
Scottie Scheffler statement: What the World No. 1 said
The Scottie Scheffler statement said: “This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do.
“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
Scottie Scheffler timeline: What happened?
Just after 5am Kentucky time, there was an accident involving a pedestrian and a shuttle bus close to the gates of the golf course.
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The start of the second round of the PGA Championship was delayed – with tee times pushed back an hour and 20 minutes.
Around 6am, Scottie Scheffler, travelling to the golf course, was arrested and detained by Louisville Police as he attempted to enter.
ESPN+ reported that at 7.28am, he was booked by Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections and was released at 8.40am.
Scheffler arrived at Valhalla at about 9.15am and teed off at his scheduled time of 10.08am.
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