Scottie Scheffler breaks silence to brush off shock arrest as ‘misunderstanding’ after ‘assaulting cop’ near PGA course
GOLF star Scottie Scheffler has spoken out after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.
The world number one golfer, 27, was detained outside the PGA Championship course in Louisville after being accused of failing to follow police orders.
Traffic had been backed up for about a mile in both directions on the road to Valhalla Golf Club after an earlier fatal accident – with police directing vehicles in the dark.
Scheffler was said to have stepped out of his car after a police officer threw himself onto his vehicle and screamed at him to stop driving.
Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, video showed Scheffler being cuffed and bundled into a police car.
In a span of three hours, Scheffler was arrested, dressed in an orange shirt for a mugshot, and returned to the golf course just 56 minutes before he teed off in the second round.
In a statement released as he was warming up, the golfer said there had been a “big misunderstanding”.
He 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 the golf today.”
He added: “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 into perspective.”
As police led handcuffed Scheffler away on Friday morning, officers yelled at witnesses to stay back.
An officer allegedly told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington: “There’s nothing you can do, he’s going to jail.”
Darlington said Scheffler looked at him and said “please help me” as he was led away.
“It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively,” Darlington said.
Markings on the door of the car indicated Scheffler was driving a PGA Championship vehicle.
It is believed the incident took place after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led him to attempt to drive past a police officer into the golf club.
Police said he was booked for second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
He was pictured in an orange jumpsuit in a mugshot posted by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections.
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