Louisville authorities have dropped all charges against Scottie Scheffler stemming from a traffic incident outside Valhalla Golf Club on May 17. The dismissal of the charges brings to an end one of the strangest incidents in a bizarre era for men’s golf.
Jefferson County Prosecutor Mike O’Connell announced during a hearing Wednesday afternoon that all charges against Scheffler would be dropped. O’Connell indicated that the county agreed that Scheffler’s version of events did not rise to the level of criminal conduct, and the charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. The entire hearing lasted just six minutes.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in prosecuting the charges against Mr. Scheffler. Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was, quote, ‘a big misunderstanding,’ close quote, is corroborated by the evidence,” O’Connell told the court. “The evidence we reviewed supports the conclusion that Det. [Bryan] Gillis was concerned about public safety at the location when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not meet the elements of any crimes.
Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, was on his way to Valhalla for a morning match in the second round of the PGA Championship when he was stopped by police outside the club’s gates. Traffic had been backed up around the club because of a fatal crash involving a pedestrian about an hour earlier, and the pre-dawn scene was a chaotic blur of rain and flashing lights. The players were allowed to enter the club and Scheffler tried to do so even after being prevented from doing so by an official.
Detective Gillis did not have his body camera on during the incident, so close-up video of the interaction is not available. Gillis claimed Scheffler dragged him across the sidewalk, injuring Gillis and damaging his pants. Scheffler stated that he stopped when ordered and accepted his arrest without significant protest.
Video has emerged of Scheffler talking to an officer in the backseat of a police car.
A video on Facebook from May 23 captures Scottie Scheffler’s conversation in the police car following the arrest. “You’re right, I should have stopped. I got a little impatient because I’m really late for tea time.” Police officer says he “drugged” and “hurt” officer. pic.twitter.com/IosEtwj2tZ
-Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) May 29, 2024
Scheffler was booked and briefly held in prison before being released in time to make his departure in Valhalla. He played well straight from prison, but struggled on Saturday and dropped out of contention. Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship, having led or co-led wire to wire.
Scheffler’s arraignment was originally scheduled for the Tuesday after the tournament ended, but was postponed until June 3. Because Scheffler was accused of a crime, he would need to be present for any essential court proceedings, such as an arraignment.
Steve Romines, Scheffler’s attorney, indicated after the firing that Scheffler will not file civil suit against the city of Louisville. He added that there was no “quid pro quo” between him and the county to avoid such lawsuits.
Due to his dismissal, Scheffler is now free to put this entire episode behind him. He missed an opportunity to win a Grand Slam, finishing eight strokes behind Schauffele, but given how well Schauffele was playing, it’s entirely possible that Scheffler would have had difficulty keeping up even without the distraction of Friday morning’s incident.
