GOLF star Scottie Scheffler suffered his worst opening round in nearly a year at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday.
The world No. 1 shot a disappointing two-over 72 at Colonial Country Club in Texas.
5
5
It was his first better-than-expected opening round since the Tour Championship last August.
Scheffler’s uncharacteristic struggles came just days after his shocking arrest in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 27-year-old was detained by police outside Valhalla Golf Course just hours before his scheduled PGA Championship match last Friday.
He allegedly failed to follow police orders after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a bus in the early hours of the morning.
Scheffler was dragged out of his vehicle by two officers before being taken away in a police car.
He now faces charges of second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals by a police officer directing traffic.
The Masters champion was originally supposed to be arraigned on Tuesday, May 21, but his trial was postponed until Monday, June 3.
Discussing his ordeal on Friday, Scheffler told reporters: “It was a chaotic situation and a huge misunderstanding.
5
“I was very shaken, to say the least… I was never angry, I was just in shock. I was shaking for about an hour.”
He then revealed that he had a relationship with the police officer who took him to the police station.
He said: “We had a good chat in the car which kind of helped me calm down. I was sitting there waiting to go in and I asked him, ‘Can you come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?’ ?’.
“When I was sitting in the cell, there was a TV there and I could see myself on the TV.”
5
What happened?
Traffic was backed up for about a mile in both directions on a road leading to Valhalla Golf Club, where the PGA Championship was being held, on the morning of May 17, following an earlier fatal accident.
Witnesses stated that Scheffler attempted to bypass what he believed to be a security detail.
The golfer reportedly got out of the car when a police officer secured himself to the vehicle and shouted at him to stop driving.
The arresting officer Bryan Gillis, who reportedly did not have his body camera on, attempted to give Scheffler directions amid traffic chaos outside Valhalla, according to a police report.
But the golfer “refused to comply and sped off, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground,” the report stated.
The detective reportedly “suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee.”
Video from the scene showed him being handcuffed and placed in a police car — before donning an orange shirt for a photo op at a Louisville police station.
He returned to the golf course less than an hour before teeing off in the second round of the championship.
Scheffler was charged with second-degree felony assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to comply with a police officer’s traffic signals.
In a note released by the professional during the warm-up, he said: “This morning, I proceeded as instructed by the police.
“It was a very chaotic situation, which is understandable considering the tragic accident that occurred earlier, and there was a huge misunderstanding about what I thought I was being asked to do.
“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
