“I definitely never imagined going to jail”: Scottie Scheffler credits “tremendous” police officers despite being arrested

Scottie Scheffler was arrested early Friday morning, May 17, on his way to the Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. The American was arrested under four criminal charges, namely, second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.

While the golf World No. 1 was able to get out of jail in time for his tee time, he is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment next week.

Following his performance in the second round of the PGA Championship, Scottie Scheffler held a press conference, where he addressed several aspects of his arrest, although he clarified that he would not go into specific details.

Scottie Scheffler had words of praise for the officers who took care of him at the police station, calling them "tremendous". The 27-year-old also said that a car conversation with the officer who took him to prison helped him calm down.

"The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down... He came out and we had a nice chat and then the officers inside the jail were tremendous," Sheffler said. [3:45 - 3:50, 4:09 - 4:13]

"I mean, they were really kind. I'm grateful that we have such strong police, and they're our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning," he added. [4:38 - 4:51]

Speaking further in the press conference, Sheffler reiterated his admiration for the police while also stating that he never imagined going to prison.

"Like I said, the officers at the jail were tremendous. I'm very grateful for the people that serve all of us across the nation... I definitely never imagined ever going to jail," the 27-year-old said. [11:59 - 12:18]

How did Scottie Scheffler's day end at Valhalla?

Despite a hectic morning, Scottie Scheffler tied his second-best score at the PGA Championship by carding a 5-under 66 on Friday at Valhalla Golf Club.

Scheffler had shot 66 in his debut at the event (first round of the 2020 edition at TPC Harding Park). He had then twice shot a personal-record 65 at the PGA Championship.

His first round of 65 was the third round of 2020, while he equaled this mark during the fourth round of the 2023 edition at Oak Hill. The score of 65 was also the record for the PGA Championship until it was broken by Xander Schauffele during the first round of the 2024 edition (62).

Scheffler played the second round with six birdies and one bogey. His 36-hole score is 9-under and he is tied for third place, three strokes behind transitional leader Xander Schauffele. The second round is pending completion.