Scottie Scheffler lawyer explains arrest, gives update on current legal situation amid PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler had one of the more bizarre days you’ll ever see in a major golf tournament on Friday in the 2024 PGA Championship. He was detained by Louisville police early Friday morning, for what has been deemed as a “misunderstanding” from a number of different people. He was able to perform brilliantly and shoot a 66 in the second round, putting him at 9-under after two rounds, sitting in a tie for fourth place. Following his round, his lawyer, Steve Romines, cleared up the legal situation for the No. 1 golfer in the world.
Steve Romines sheds some light on what happened
His lawyer explained it was a big misunderstanding. “He was advised to you know, go around and turn left into the facility. Come in and do his pre-req, pre-round preparation. The officer who charged him obviously didn’t know that. And so, he did what he was instructed to do. And the officer who arrested him didn’t think he was supposed to be doing that. And so, that’s where the miscommunication occurred,” Romines explained when he spoke with the Golf Channel.
The two options moving forward for the Scheffler legal team are that the charges will either be dropped, or they will go to trial, because “he didn’t do anything wrong,” in the words of his lawyer. “So, we’re not interested in any sort of settlement or negotiations or anything like that. He didn’t do anything wrong. It was just a big miscommunication.”
He admitted there were some really weird circumstances on Friday morning with the traffic issues. “But you know, it was kind of a perfect storm of circumstances, that the fatality was down the road. And one thing needs to be clear. He didn’t drive through any accident scene or any investigation. None of that happened. That kind of misinformation is out there. That did not occur,” Romines explained.
It was without a doubt, one of the strangest days that any golfer has ever experienced before a round in a major.
So how did Scheffler get ready for his round? He had to get creative.
“I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell, that was a first for me,” Scottie Scheffler said during his post-round press conference. “You know, that was a part of my warmup. I was just sitting there waiting and then I started going through my warmup. I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come out here and play and so I started going through my routine. I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today.”
The jail cell stretching routine worked as Scheffler shot a 66 to keep him in contention at Valhalla in the PGA Championship.
It was without a doubt a wild day for Scheffler, but he did what he could after being detained to get ready to play.
“I feel like my head’s still spinning. I can’t really explain what happened this morning,” Scheffler said. “I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.”
Scottie Scheffler calls arrest ‘just a big misunderstanding,’ offers condolences to family of man killed in earlier accident
Scottie Scheffler, the current No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, spent a brief bit of his Friday morning in a Louisville jail cell after an incident where he apparently injured a police officer with his car. But he didn’t think all the attention should be on him.
Scheffler’s incident with a Louisville police officer was borne out of traffic being backed up due to the death of a man working for a vendor at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. That man, John Mills, was apparently killed by a vehicle in the early morning hours. Traffic was diverted as first responders attended to the scene, and in that alteration of protocol, Scheffler — and his vehicle — got tangled up with the officer.
Speaking at a press conference after his Friday round, Scheffler first offered condolences to the deceased and his family.
“First of all, you know my sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Mills,” Scheffler said. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. You know, one day he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament and, you know, a few moments later he’s trying to cross the street and now he’s no longer with us. So, I can’t can’t imagine what they’re going through.
“My heart, you know, I feel for them. I’m sorry. My situation will get handled. It was just a — it was a chaotic situation and a big, big misunderstanding. I can’t comment on any of the specifics of it. So, I feel like you all are gonna be disappointed but, can’t comment on any specifics, but my situation will be handled. It was just a — just a big misunderstanding.”
On3’s Matt Connolly also contributed to this article.