LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Scottie Scheffler shook off the burden of an arrest, a booking and a mug shot on Friday morning to shoot 5-under 66 and put himself right in contention for the PGA Championship.
Just hours after being arrested for a traffic incident that escalated to the point where Scheffler was handcuffed and taken from the course, the world No. 1 carded six birdies to get to 9-under on the tournament, just two strokes behind clubhouse leader Collin Morikawa.
Scheffler attempted to enter Valhalla Golf Club early in the morning, but encountered a police officer who halted him. Stories diverge from there, but the upshot is that Scheffler was detained by police shortly after 6:00 a.m. and booked soon afterward. He returned to the course less than an hour before his scheduled 10:08 a.m. tee time.
Although he was charged with four counts including a felony, Scheffler was dialed in to his golf game from the start, carding a birdie on his very first hole. He would go on to cut stroke after stroke off the advantage of first-round Xander Schauffele, finally catching Schauffele’s -9 mark at his 17th hole.
Scheffler began his post-round press conference with thoughts about John Mills, the man who died in the traffic accident early Friday morning.
“My sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Mills,” he said. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. One day he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament, few moments later he’s trying to cross a street and now he’s no longer with us. So I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I feel for them. I’m sorry.
“My situation, it will get handled. It was a chaotic situation. A big misunderstanding.”
Regarding his situation, Scheffler said he actually began his warmup while in his jail cell. That included some stretching.
“That was a first for me,” he said. “I was just sitting there waiting; I started going through my warmup, I felt like there was a chance that I would still come out here an play.
“I started going through my routine. I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today, but like I said I still feel like my head is spinning a little bit.”
He continued: “I was pretty rattled to say the least. … I was never angry, I was just in shock. I was shaking for about an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me.”
While in his cell, Scheffler said he could see a TV tuned into ESPN talking about his situation. When he noticed that the start of Round 2 had been delayed, he began calculating if he would be out in time to make his 10:08 a.m. tee time.
He said it took him a few holes to settle himself down, though it didn’t show considering he did birdie the first.
“I would say it was pretty good,” he said of his round. “I definitely never imagined going to jail and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times.”
Now it’s on to Round 3, where Scheffler will be one of the last to tee off. A third major — and second consecutive — is now in sight.
This story is developing.
