Scottie Scheffler detained at PGA Championship by police

ESPN said Scheffler, the world No.1, drove past a police officer in an SUV that had markings on the door, indicating it was a PGA Championship vehicle. Scheffler is reported to have driven past an officer, who screamed at him to stop and then attached himself to the car until Scheffler stopped a short distance later.

Once out of the car, Scheffler was put in handcuffs.

A video posted online by a journalist from ESPN shows one police officer leading Scheffler to a police car while another says to a camera: “Right now, he’s going to jail, he’s going to jail and there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Period.”

Jeff Darlington, an ESPN journalist who watched the incident unfold, said police pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.

“Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back, in handcuffs, very stunned about what was happening, looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me,’” Darlington said.

“He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation. It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively.”

Darlington said another police officer later approached with a notepad and asked if he (Darlington) knew the name of the person who had just been put in handcuffs.

A Louisville attorney, Steve Romines, was engaged to represent Scheffler and spoke to local reporters as the golfer returned to the PGA Championship. He said Scheffler would “co-operate fully” with authorities.

“Apparently there had been a traffic accident or maybe even a fatality down the road and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that,” Romines said.

“The officer was then directing traffic which was maybe not part of the event traffic detail. That’s where the miscommunication arose. He did exactly as he was instructed to do to enter the premises.

“He’s been released and we’ll decide if he’s going to play golf or not today. We’ll just deal with the court system as it comes.”

The second round of the PGA Championship was already delayed by at least an hour because of rain. The PGA announced all tee times would also be affected by the accident. Scheffler had been scheduled to tee off in his second round at 8.48am local time (9.48pm AEST).

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club,” the PGA of America said in a statement. “This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”

Australian golfer Min Woo Lee took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to publish a post that simply said “#FreeScottie”.

Scheffler shot a four-under 67 in his opening round at Valhalla, five shots behind overnight leader Xander Schauffele.

He was paired with last year’s US Open winner Wyndham Clark and The Open champion Brian Harman.

He was the last player on the practice range after his round, still working on his game in preparation for his second round.

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The 27-year-old drew comparisons to Tiger Woods after winning last month’s Masters at Augusta National as part of a stunning start to the year in which he has also claimed victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship.

The deeply religious golfer said in the wake of his second green jacket that his “victory was secured on the cross”.

Scheffler, whose wife Meredith gave birth to their first child earlier this month, then won the RBC Heritage Classic the week after The Masters.

with AP