Scottie Scheffler stretches in jail cell, shoots 66 following arrest at PGA Championship
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TOM D’ANGELO, PALM BEACH POST
May 18, 2024 at 12:04 AM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Few days in PGA Tour history have been as bizarre and surreal as Friday.
With a steady rain casting a gloomy backdrop for the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Scottie Scheffler stepped onto the tee box at the 10th hole to a loud ovation, chants of “Scottie, Scottie, Scottie …”
And an occasional “Free Scottie.”
The world’s No. 1 golfer, a man guided by his Christian faith, was arrested about three hours before striping that tee shot about 300 yards into the thick, soupy air, his situation triggering a chain of events as unexpected as one of the club pros winning this event.
Or as unexpected as a man shooting a 66 in a major championship after his opening tee shot came about 90 minutes after he was released on his own recognizance from police custody.
That bizarre scene was the result of a tragedy that Scheffler and every golfer referenced and made sure was not overlooked when asked about the morning’s events.
Scheffler was attempting to enter the grounds about an hour after a man heading to his job as a vendor was struck by a shuttle bus while crossing the road. John Mills, of Louisville, was pronounced dead. He was 69.
Before he said anything about his situation or his round, Scheffler offered his sympathies to the Mills family.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through,” he said. “My heart … I feel for them. I’m sorry.”
Recent: Here’s what Scottie Scheffler said of ‘chaotic’ misunderstanding in PGA Championship arrest
Scheffler used the word “chaotic” eight times during his post-round news conference, and said the situation was a “misunderstanding” and would be “handled.”
And chaotic also described the scene on the course as Scheffler was followed around by thousands of loud fans all day, some already sporting T-shirts with Scheffler’s mugshot, others having used black marker to inscribe “FREE SCOTTIE” on their shirts.
Unfazed by that chaos, Scheffler stuck his second shot of the day within 3 feet of the pin. He opened with a birdie on that par-5 10th hole,.
Then, after a bogey on No. 11, he drained a 27-footer for his second birdie.
When the round ended, his card included six birdies and that bogey on his second hole.
“It probably took a few holes to feel normal,” Scheffler said. “As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good.
“I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times for sure.”
This is a rare athlete who has mastered the art of compartmentalizing since his meteoric rise that started just two years ago and now has him firmly in the No. 1 spot in the world ranking.
That being said, he did play with a heavy heart for John Mills.
“Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind, control my breathing,” he said.
Scheffler offered “numerous” apologies, telling the police he was just trying to get to his tee time. And he said he never used his name. “At no point did I try to name-drop myself to defuse the situation,” he said.
While he knew there was an accident as he was pulling into the club, at that time he did not know there had been a fatality.
“My main focus after getting arrested was wondering if I could be able to come back out here and play,” he said. “And fortunately I was able to do that.”
Scheffler finally arrived at the course about an hour before his tee time, which was pushed back 80 minutes because the main access road was closed for more than an hour after the accident. After a quick breakfast, he walked through the gathering crowd to the range.
Every step was met with cheers, shouts of encouragement and a few snarky comments comparing his mugshot to Tiger Woods’ from Tiger’s 2017 arrest in Jupiter on DUI charges.
Scheffler appeared loose and even smiled a few times while talking with his caddie, Ted Scott. He gladly accepted a fist bump from Rickie Fowler on his way to the range.
His memories of his trip to jail were trying to get loose in the cell by stretching — “a first for me,” he said — and watching himself on the television in the holding cell.
He said it took about an hour to stop shaking.
“I was pretty rattled, to say the least,” Scheffler said. “The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car that kind of helped calm me down.
“I was sitting there waiting to kind of go in and I asked him … ‘Hey, excuse me, can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?’ I was never angry. I was just in shock, and I think my body was just … I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me.”
The decision to play was left up to Scheffler and there never was a doubt.
“My manager asked me if I wanted to, and I was like, ‘Of course,'” he said. “Then we just came here and got ready to go play.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
PGA Championship
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky
Saturday, 10 a.m., ESPN, 1 p.m., CBS; Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN, 1 p.m., CBS
Defending champ: Brooks Koepka
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Inside Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, stellar round at PGA Championship