World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler arrested outside PGA Championship

We’ve wrapped up our live coverage of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest and the PGA Championship. Scroll through the posts below for more.

Scottie Scheffler speaks at a press conference on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky.

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler called his Friday morning arrest a “misunderstanding,” adding that he was “rattled” after what transpired. 

Scheffler said he was in shock when he was arrested.

“It was just a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding,” he told reporters.

He said at no point did he “name-drop” his name to police officers and said he cannot comment “on any of the specifics” of the arrest. He added that he stretched and tried to mentally prepare for his second round while in jail. 

Scheffler also expressed sympathies to the family of the person who died outside the course earlier on Friday.  

Scheffler currently sits in a tie for third place at nine-under par for the tournament.

The Louisville Metro Police Department issued its first statement on Friday afternoon after this morning’s arrest of pro golfer Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Championship, saying the agency was still investigating.

“We are still in the process of gathering information and investigating what transpired today. At about 5:07 this morning, in front of Gate 2 at Valhalla Golf Club, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a shuttle bus. LMPD expresses its sincere condolences to the family of the individual who died as a result of that collision. All lanes of traffic at the scene were closed while the fatality investigation occurred. LMPD personnel were also directing traffic around the scene,” it said.

“While an officer was directing traffic, an encounter with a motorist attempting to make entry into a restricted area ultimately led to the driver being arrested. We are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation. We are appreciative that all parties involved are fully cooperating,” the department continued.

According to a Louisville Metro Police report obtained earlier, Scheffler was trying to gain access to the golf course when he was stopped by an officer. “Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective (Bryan) Gillis to the ground,” the report stated.

Scheffler said earlier Friday in a statement that the arrest was the result of a “big misunderstanding” during a “very chaotic situation,” and his attorney has said he will plead not guilty. 

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler completed his second round at the PGA Championship Friday, shooting a 5-under par 66 and climbing the leaderboard, where he currently sits in a tie for third place at nine-under par for the tournament. 

The strong round came hours after Scheffler was arrested and charged with a felony and other counts Friday morning outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, after police say he tried to drive around the scene of a fatal crash.

Scheffler recorded six birdies and one bogey on his round. The two-time major winner and reigning Masters champion is seeking his first career PGA Championship win.

The 27-year-old became a father for the first time earlier this month.

Remember: In golf, competitors are trying to complete each hole in the fewest strokes possible. Par refers to the number of strokes a golfer is expected to take to complete a hole. A birdie means the golfer took one fewer stroke than par, while a bogey means they took one extra.

Scottie Scheffler plays a shot at the PGA Championship on Friday.

It’s been a day unlike any other for Scottie Scheffler, who started the morning in police custody, but the world No. 1 has been typically unflappable on the course.

Having started from the 10th hole, a fourth birdie of the round at the par-four 14th lifted the American to within one stroke of a trio of his compatriots atop the leaderboard: Xander Schauffele, Mark Hubbard and Collin Morikawa.

Scheffler struck a brilliant approach some 57 yards, leaving him with a simple putt from within 4 feet for his third birdie in a five-hole stretch.

Scheffler’s strong play has kept him within a few strokes of Morikawa for the lead as the afternoon goes on, despite a dominant stretch of five consecutive birdies from the world No. 13.

Scheffler had started the day five shots behind round one leader Schauffele, who just teed off to begin his second day of play.

This post has been updated to reflect Morikawa and Scheffler’s latest results.

Scottie Scheffler of the United States lines up a putt on May 17, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scottie Scheffler is a man well-accustomed to making global headlines, but almost never for events beyond the confines of the golf course.

The extraordinary scenes that saw the world No.1 arrested outside Kentucky’s Valhalla Golf Club were rendered even more remarkable given his background.

The golfer, a new father, has been dominating his sport in unassuming fashion.

A devout Christian, he once said he played the sport because he was “trying to glorify God.” The 27-year-old is the favorite to win the PGA Championship this weekend and arguably not since Tiger Woods in his prime has a player been so superior on the course.

But as recently as 2022, he still drove a Chevrolet Suburban he’s had since college and counted his home in Dallas as his flashiest purchase.

“I feel like I live two separate lives. I have my life when I’m out here on the road and you’re playing golf in front of people and I’ve got to do interviews and stuff like that. But then when I go home and I go about my life, golf’s not really that crazy of a popular sport. It’s not like I’m quarterback for the (Dallas) Cowboys or anything like that,” he told CNN in March.

“So living life around home is pretty easy for us. Not much has really changed on the home front. But out here, yeah, things have changed a significant amount,” he added.

Keep reading about Scheffler’s life and meteoric rise in the golf world.

The PGA of America, organizers of the ongoing PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, released a statement on the arrest of Scottie Scheffler Friday morning and the fatal accident of a worker outside the course.

“Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who lost his life in a tragic accident early this morning while reporting to work. 
As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place,” according to the statement.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has also released a statement, sending condolences to Mills’ family and stating that the city’s police department is investigating the incident with Scheffler.

CNN’s Gabe Cohen contributed reporting to this post.

Scottie Scheffler walks on the course at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 17.

Scottie Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, told CNN in a statement Friday that Scheffler was headed to the golf course to prepare for his tee time at the PGA Championship.

“Due to the combination of event traffic and a traffic fatality in the area, it was a very chaotic situation. He was proceeding as directed by another traffic officer and driving a marked player’s vehicle with credentials visible,” Romines said. “In the confusion, Scottie is alleged to have disregarded a different officer’s traffic signals resulting in these charges.”

Romines said multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed that Scheffler “did not do anything wrong” but was driving as directed. 

“He stopped immediately upon being directed to and never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle,” according to the statement. “We will plead not guilty and litigate this matter as needed.”

Romines earlier told CNN affiliate WLKY that there was a “miscommunication” and Scheffler was unaware of a fatal accident that happened outside the course.

CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed reporting to this post.

Pro golfer Scottie Scheffler dragged a uniformed officer to the ground after attempting to drive past the scene of an accident Friday morning, according to a Louisville Metro Police Department report obtained by CNN affiliate WLKY.

Scheffler was trying to gain access to the golf course when he was stopped by an officer wearing a full police uniform and a yellow reflective rain jacket, the report says. The officer, identified as Detective Bryan Gillis, stopped Scheffler and tried to give instructions.

“Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground,” the report states.

The detective experienced pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee, and was taken to the hospital for further treatment, the report adds.

Scheffler was charged with felony second-degree assault on a police officer, along with lesser charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, according to Jefferson County court records. He has since been released from custody.

What Scheffler has said: The golfer said in a statement earlier Friday that he didn’t mean to disregard instructions and that it had been a “big misunderstanding” in the “chaotic situation” surrounding the crash investigation.

CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed reporting to this post.

Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the 12th tee on May 17, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Back on the golf course just hours after his arrest this morning, Scottie Scheffler has made a solid start to the second round of the PGA Championship, going birdie, bogey, birdie, par over his first four holes.

That puts Scheffler, starting his round on the back nine, at 1-under par for the day and 5-under par for the tournament, which has him tied in eighth place at the moment.

Scheffler’s first shot of the day landed in the rough — not too far from a bunker — but the American responded well to set up a putt for birdie.

On the 11th hole, the world No. 1 had a two-putt for bogey after his tee shot missed the green. Then he bounced back with another birdie on the 12.

Another solid hole at the par-4 13th keeps Scheffler at 5-under, four shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.

Remember: In golf, competitors are trying to complete each hole in the fewest strokes possible. Par refers to the number of strokes a golfer is expected to take to complete a hole. A birdie means the golfer took one fewer stroke than par, while a bogey means they took one extra.

Scottie Scheffler holds up his trophy after winning the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, on April 14.

Scottie Scheffler was the overwhelming favorite ahead of the season’s second major, seeking to go back-to-back following his Masters triumph last month.

After a stellar 2023 campaign that saw him retain the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year title, Scheffler this season has only consolidated his status as the dominant force in men’s golf. Just one week after a commanding victory at The Arnold Palmer Invitational, he mounted a stunning late charge to become the first player to ever defend The Players Championship.

Since then, the 27-year-old has looked borderline unstoppable, as victory at the RBC Heritage – just one week after easing into his second green jacket at Augusta – made it four wins in five starts.

Scheffler last week stepped away from competitive action to be with wife Meredith as she gave birth to the couple’s first child, Bennett.

“Sitting at home with the girl I dated in high school with our child and then the Green Jacket sitting in the closet is a pretty insane feeling,” he said, “and I just wanted to be as thankful as possible.”

Following play Thursday in Louisville, Scheffler was looking ahead to trying to “clean up a few of the mistakes,” he said.

The golfer has developed into a fan favorite, and he was met with rousing applause from the crowd assembled near the 10th tee Friday morning when he resumed play just hours after his arrest outside the championship.

ESPN journalist Jeff Darlington witnessed the arrest of World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler Friday morning before the second round of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, thrusting the reporter into the middle of one of the strangest sports stories in recent memory.

Darlington and Scheffler had arrived at the course around the same time in preparation for the tournament. After reportedly attempting to drive around the scene of a fatal crash, Scheffler was arrested and charged with a felony and other counts. He was later released and has since teed off in the tournament.

Darlington was not only a witness to the incident; he also attempted to intervene. He was only several feet away from Scheffler when the golfer was arrested, and Darlington tried – and failed – to explain to the police that Scheffler was a participant in the tournament.

“We didn’t want to be part of this story, we ended up being at least on the periphery,” said ESPN commentator Dave Fleming on air after the incident.

ESPN told CNN that the network is not commenting on this story.

Here’s how it all unfolded.

Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the 10th hole at the PGA Championship on Friday, May 17, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has teed off from the 10th tee for his second round at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

The crowd gave Scheffler a rousing applause when he struck his tee shot. Scheffler is currently five shots off the lead.

Louisville police are expected to make a statement about the arrest of Scottie Scheffler today, though the timing is not clear, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Right now, the police are in the process of reviewing body cameras from officers who were on the scene, dashboard cameras from police cars that were operating at the scene, and pole cameras that are in the area that had a view of the incident to get the most accurate view and timeline of what occurred, the official said. 

Louisville police were investigating a fatal accident and directing traffic near the golf course.

Scheffler drove up to police at the roadblock for the accident scene, the official said. While there are other officers assigned in that area as part of the regular traffic detail for the PGA event, these officers were part of the accident investigation team.

Preliminary information indicates Scheffler was ordered to stop and he apparently went around the detour to continue toward the golf course, the senior law enforcement official said. An officer attempted to stop Scheffler from going around the detour and at some point, Scheffler’s car made contact with that officer. Police say the officer was not seriously injured but Scheffler was taken into custody.

Scottie Scheffler walks on the practice range at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 17.

Golfer Scottie Scheffler said he never meant to “disregard any of the instructions” following his arrest Friday morning.

“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,” Scheffler said in a statement on Instagram.

Read his full statement:

“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 warms up before the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday, May 17, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Golfer Scottie Scheffler bypassed police while driving to the PGA Championship in Louisville Friday morning because of a misunderstanding, according to his local attorney.

“They were directing traffic, he held his media credential out and was going in like they’d been instructed to,” attorney Steve Romines told CNN affiliate WLKY.

Scheffler was arrested outside the Valhalla Golf Club and booked into the Louisville jail Friday morning. He was charged with four counts, including second-degree assault on a police officer, and released about an hour later. 

Police presence outside the club was elevated Friday because of a fatal traffic accident outside the course involving a pedestrian, but Romines said Scheffler didn’t know anything out of the ordinary had happened.

“He was unaware of that,” Romines said outside the courthouse. “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, and that’s why we’re here.”

Scheffler’s attorney declined to comment on why the golfer was charged with assault, saying he will let the case play out in court.

“Scottie will cooperate fully,” Romines said.

CNN’s Tanika Gray and Amanda Musa contributed to this report.

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla Golf Club after being released from custody on May 17, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has been released from custody, according to the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections.

Scheffler was taken into custody Friday morning. Jail records showed he was being held on charges of felony second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. 

CNN has reached out to representatives for Scheffler for comment.

Scottie Scheffler is detained by police outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 17.

Golfer Scottie Scheffler was attempting to drive around a fatal crash scene near the entrance to the PGA Championship venue when he was arrested by police Friday, according to an ESPN reporter who was with Scheffler at the time he was detained. 

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported that Scheffler was driving around the scene of a fatal traffic accident to enter Valhalla Golf Club when he was told to stop by police. “Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance,” ESPN reported. Scheffler said an officer grabbed Scheffler by the arm while he was still in his vehicle.

Police presence around the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club was elevated due to the fatal accident involving a shuttle bus carrying people to the course. Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said a pedestrian was killed after attempting to cross the main road leading to the course and being hit by the bus. 

PGA of America issued a statement about the fatal accident.

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”

CNN’s Tanika Gray contributed to this report.

Scottie Scheffler was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday morning.

World No. 1 golfer and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested and charged with a felony and other counts Friday morning outside the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, dramatically upending one of golf’s major tournaments.

Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer – a felony – along with lesser charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, according to Jefferson County court records.

The incident began when Scheffler drove to the Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the tournament, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who witnessed and filmed the arrest.

Police presence around the entrance to the course was elevated due to the fatal accident involving a shuttle bus carrying people to the course. Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said a pedestrian was killed after attempting to cross the main road leading to the course and being hit by the bus.

When Scheffler arrived, he attempted to drive around the crash scene on a median, according to ESPN, which first reported Scheffler’s detention. “A police officer instructed Scheffler to stop, but Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance,” ESPN said.

“Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car. When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs,” Darlington posted on X. Scheffler was in a marked player courtesy vehicle, Darlington said on ESPN.

Video from Darlington shows police walking with Scheffler, who was in handcuffs, and placing him into a police vehicle.

“Right now he’s going to jail,” an officer at the scene says in the video.