Jefferson County prosecutors looking to drop charges against Scottie Scheffler according to reports
After a whirlwind weekend, Scottie Scheffler could face no criminal punishment. The golfer was arrested early Friday morning after a traffic incident caused by a fatal crash earlier. He was detained, booked, and then released before the second round of the PGA Championship. Now, it looks like the charges are going to be dropped.
Golf reporter Kevin Van Valkenburg said on X:
"According to a source familiar with the office’s thinking, Jefferson County prosecutors are planning, as of now, to drop the charges against Scottie Scheffler early next week. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 am on Tuesday."
Scheffler appears in court on May 21, and sources are indicating that it will be a positive development for the world's number-one-ranked golfer. He didn't spend a lot of time in a jail cell, and it appears that the extent of the penalty for his incident with law enforcement will be limited to that.
Scheffler and his lawyer both categorized the incident as a misunderstanding, and his legal team vowed to fight it and litigate it so that Scheffler is not punished. Scheffler's initial statement read via CNN:
“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.”
That is a sentiment echoed by the legal team, who also said that they have eyewitnesses who will testify that Scheffler did nothing wrong and complied with the officer's instructions. An earlier report revealed that there was no body-cam footage of the incident, and now it looks like the charges will be dropped.
In the meantime, Scottie Scheffler is trying to win his second straight Major championship. He won The Masters Tournament in April, but has struggled a bit and faces an uphill battle to win this weekend.
Scottie Scheffler's lawyer explains misunderstanding
Both Scottie Scheffler and his lawyer Steve Romines believe there was a misunderstanding that led to his arrest. Scheffler was going to Valhalla to work out and prepare for his second round, according to the lawyer.
Per ESPN, Romines detailed the incident:
"He was getting ready for his tee time. They were directing traffic. He held his credential out and was going in like they'd been instructed to. Apparently, there had been a traffic accident, maybe even a fatality, down the road, and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that."
Romines added that the officer who tried to stop Scottie Scheffler wasn't part of the regular event-traffic detail, which led to confusion. The lawyer added that his client was allowed to go through, but he was unaware that there had been a crash and was following the previous instructions.