Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment delayed until June 3 in Louisville

May 18, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Scottie Scheffler tees off on the fifth hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
By Jenna West
May 20, 2024

Golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment on charges stemming from Friday’s arrest outside the PGA Championship has been postponed until June 3, the Jefferson County (Ky.) Attorney’s office confirmed Monday.

Scheffler was originally scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday in a Louisville, Ky., courtroom. A district judge granted a request to delay by Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell objected to the delay, his spokesperson, Josh Abner, said in a statement.

Advertisement

“Our office continues to gather information in the case,” Abner said.

Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.

Louisville police arrested Scheffler shortly after 6 a.m. ET on Friday outside Valhalla Golf Club after the world No. 1 golfer attempted to navigate around a traffic backup before the second round of the PGA Championship.

The backup was caused by a fatal crash earlier in the morning. A shuttle bus struck and killed John Mills, a local man working for a tournament vendor, causing traffic to back up.

Scheffler, according to the arrest report, was traveling eastbound when he attempted to steer his black Range Rover courtesy car into the westbound lane. Detective Bryan Gillis tried to stop the vehicle but Scheffler continued forward, according to the report, “dragging Detective Gillis to the ground” and causing injuries that required medical treatment.

Romines, Scheffler’s attorney, said Scheffler was originally instructed to go in and that the officer directing traffic was not part of the event traffic detail. “So that’s where the miscommunication arose and that’s why we’re here,” Romines said Friday morning.

When Scheffler stopped, he lowered his window and the officer reached in, grabbed Scheffler’s arm and pulled the door open, according to Jeff Darlington, an ESPN reporter on the scene. The officer then put Scheffler in handcuffs and pushed him against the car.

Authorities took Scheffler to the local precinct and charged him.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Inside the most bizarre day in major golf with the arrest of Scottie Scheffler

On Saturday, Lousiville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city didn’t have body camera footage of Scheffler’s arrest. Greenberg said he wasn’t certain that Gillis was wearing a body camera but there is footage from a fixed camera across the street, and it will be released in the future.

After his release from jail Friday morning, Scheffler returned to the course less than an hour before his new tee time of 10:08 a.m. ET, which had been delayed along with the starts for the rest of the field because of the long backup caused by the crash.

Advertisement

Scheffler finished the second round with a 5-under 66 and attended a packed news conference. He called the interaction that led to his arrest a “chaotic situation” and a “big misunderstanding.”

He tied for eighth place in the PGA Championship, shooting 13-under par for the tournament. Scheffler is listed in the field for this week’s PGA Tour event, the Charles Schwab Challenge, which begins Thursday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Required reading

(Photo: Adam Cairns / USA Today)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Jenna West is a staff editor on The Athletic's news team. Before joining The Athletic, she served as a writer and producer for Sports Illustrated's national news desk. Jenna is a graduate of Northwestern University.