New witness recalls Scottie Scheffler's arrest outside 2024 PGA Championship course - "The cop got very angry pursuing the car"
Scottie Scheffler has been at the centre of quite a big controversy over the last few days. The World No. 1 found himself arrested ahead of the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. The incident came to light on May 13, as Scheffler was found 'disrupting the traffic flow' outside the Valhalla Golf Course during a fatal pedestrian accident.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington broke the news about Scheffler's arrest, detailing the incidents that took place as Scheffler got arrested. Along with Darlington were play-by-play announcers Dave Fleming and Bob Wischusen, who also witnessed the arrest first-hand.
Speaking about what happened that morning from his perspective, Wischusen said that the officer involved stopped Scottie Scheffler as he was making his way to Valhalla. While the police officer began yelling at the golfer, he seemed to pull away in his car. At this point, Wischusen recalled (via Golf.com):
“When [Scheffler] drove past him, the cop got very angry pursuing the car. … My impression was he was kind of running alongside chasing the car, and maybe he tripped and fell. I mean, there was kind of an outcropping or median, you know, by the front gate. And keep in mind, it was raining. It was 6 o’clock in the morning. It was dark.”
The police officer was later reported to have “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee". Scheffler stopped his car, after which a confrontation between the officer and the golfer ensued.
Bob Wischusen recalls details of police officer 'banging on the window' before arresting Scottie Scheffler
Wischusen recalled that the officer was quite upset after the car stopped, and he asked Scheffler to get out of the car. Reminiscing about what happened, Wischusen said:
“He runs up to the driver’s side, and with the butt end of his flashlight starts screaming, you know, ‘Get out of the car, get out of the car’ — banging on the window — ‘shut the engine off, get out of the car. I’m a police officer.’"
Wischusen said it was only when Scottie Scheffler got out of the car that everyone realised it was the World No. 1 golfer himself. It immediately changed the gravity of the situation for Wischusen, Darlington and others. The witnesses could not believe what was happening, as Wishcusen said:
“The number one player in the world just got arrested trying to go into the gate at the golf course. I mean, you know, like, what just happened? Did we really just see what we just saw?”
Scottie Scheffler was taken to the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department after being handcuffed. However, he was released soon after, and he made it back to the Valhalla Golf Course to tee it off on the second day of the PGA Championship.