“I assume you’re pretty good if you’re playing the PGA” were the words of a Louisville police officer to Scottie Scheffler during his arrest at the PGA Championship.
New footage released by Louisville police also showed the same officer asking Scheffler if Tiger Woods was “as good as they say he is,” after Scheffler was handcuffed and detained outside Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky on May 17.
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer after trying to enter the golf course, but they were dropped on May 29.
These new images showed Scheffler’s journey in a police car where the World No.1 and reigning Masters champion is heard saying he was happy to take a PBT (preliminary breath test) for alcohol having only had mouthwash that morning of the event’s second round. He said he tended not to drink at 8 am while heading to a tee time.
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New Scottie Scheffler arrest footage released by Louisville police
Another new clip provided a fresh angle of Scheffler being arrested and walked into a police car. He is heard saying, “I’m terribly sorry, I’m just trying to get to my tee time – I’m shaking,” as well as, “I’m about to get arrested, I’m trying to get to a tee time,” and later, “He did tell me to stop. As I went by, he grabbed my arm and I was afraid – I couldn’t tell if he was a police officer. I’m sorry.”
A report following the incident said that Scheffler had ignored the instructions of Detective Bryan Gillis and pulled him to the ground after Gillis attached himself to the car. The report said Gillis had pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee, and suffered damage “beyond repair” to his uniform trousers worth about $80. A heavy police presence surrounded Shelbyville road following an earlier fatal traffic accident.
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Scheffler posted a statement on his social media platforms later that day, describing the incident as a “misunderstanding.” He went on to shoot a five-under 66 at a rainy Valhalla. It was also later revealed that Gillis didn’t have his body-worn camera activated.
In this additional footage that was posted to X on June 7, Scheffler is heard asking about the likelihood of him playing on day two of the PGA Championship before telling the officer the story of when Rory McIlroy almost missed his tee time on the final day of the 2012 Ryder Cup. The officer admitted to having never heard of the Ryder Cup.
Scheffler told the officer that his son Bennett had only been born days before this arrest and described his progress through college golf and mini tours to becoming the sport’s dominant force.
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The new clips add more chapters to an extraordinary tale of how the current undisputed king of men’s golf was on the brink of withdrawing from the second major event of the season. Scheffler played the rest of the tournament and finished in a tie for eighth.
The 27-year-old, who has won four times in 2024 and could add a fifth title at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, said he “had a good idea” charges would be dropped towards the end of the Charles Schwab Challenge (week commencing May 20). He also said he didn’t want to pursue legal action against the Louisville police.
“That was something that if we needed to use it, I think Steve (Romines, his lawyer) was more than ready to use that, just because, like I said, there was a ton of evidence in our favour. There was eyewitnesses on the scene that corroborated my story and the video evidence, the police officer talking to me after,” he said at Muirfield Village, host of the Memorial Tournament.
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“All the evidence pointed to exactly what my side of the story was – I don’t really know how to describe it, but basically, if I had to show up in court, I think Steve was more than prepared to pursue legal action.
“But at the end of the day, I did not want to have to pursue legal action against Louisville because at the end of the day, the people of Louisville are then going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department, and that just doesn’t seem right. So at no point did I ever want to sue them, but if it came there, I think my lawyer was more than prepared to use that as more of a bargaining chip-type thing more than anything.”
With the threat of criminal punishment put to bed, Scheffler can have a clear-minded charge at the US Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina which begins on June 13.
NOW READ: Scottie Scheffler statement: What the World No. 1 said after his arrest
NOW READ: The Scottie Scheffler arrest video must be seen to be believed
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