The world's top-ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler, faces four criminal charges after an interaction with police early Friday morning as he attempted to arrive by car at a Louisville golf club where this week's PGA Championship is being held.
The incident took place at the entrance to the Valhalla Golf Club, where Louisville police had halted traffic Friday morning after a fatal accident, NPR reports.
Police say Scheffler refused to comply with officers directing traffic and dragged an officer with his car.
A lawyer representing Scheffler, Steve Romines, disputed that version of events in an email to NPR.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports Scheffler posted a statement about his arrest to his Instagram story before beginning Friday's round.
"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," he wrote. "I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.”
Scheffler's charges include one felony count of second-degree assault of a police officer, along with three misdemeanors: criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. An arraignment has been set for Tuesday. Scheffler plans to plead not guilty, Romines said.
After his release, Scheffler teed off at 10:08 a.m. as scheduled.
