Louisville officials have dropped all charges against Scottie Scheffler stemming from a traffic incident outside Valhalla Golf Club on May 17. The dismissal of charges brings to a close one of the strangest incidents in a bizarre era for men's golf.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell announced during a Wednesday afternoon hearing that all charges against Scheffler would be dropped. O'Connell indicated that the county agreed that Scheffler's version of events did not rise to the level of criminal conduct, and the charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. The entire hearing lasted just six minutes, Yahoo reports.
Scheffler, the World No. 1 player, was on his way to Valhalla for an early-morning tee time in the second round of the PGA Championship when he was stopped by police just outside the club's gates. Traffic had been halted around the club because of a fatal traffic accident involving a pedestrian roughly an hour before, and the pre-dawn scene was a chaotic blur of rain and flashing lights. Players were permitted to enter the club, and Scheffler attempted to do so even after being stopped by an officer.
Police video of the incident does not exist because Det. Bryan Gillis did not have his body cam turned on. Gillis claimed that Scheffler dragged him along the pavement, causing injury to Gillis and damage to his pants. Scheffler claimed that he stopped when told to, and accepted his arrest without significant protest.
