All Charges Against Scottie Scheffler Dropped From Arrest at PGA Championship

The World No. 1 had been facing four charges including a felony from a traffic stop outside Valhalla Golf Club.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was cleared of all charges from a May 17 incident at Valhalla Golf Club. / Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

The charges against golfer Scottie Scheffler stemming from a traffic incident prior to the second round of the PGA Championship were dropped Wednesday via Jefferson County attorney Mike O’Connell.

Scheffler was facing four charges, including one felony.

“Mr. Scheffler’s actions do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses,” O’Connell said, adding that he agreed with Scheffler’s immediate assessment that the entire incident was “a big misunderstanding.”

“Based on the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward on the prosecution of the charges against Mr. Scheffler.”

The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means new evidence cannot be brought forward.

🚨🗣️ Scottie Scheffler issues an official statement on his personal Instagram about the entire situation regarding his arrest: pic.twitter.com/GuynIgqR6x

— TrackingScheffler (@SchefflerLegion) May 29, 2024

Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking and the reigning Masters champion, was arrested on four charges in the early hours of May 17, the day of the second round of the PGA Championship.

A pedestrian, John Mills, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus on his way to working at the tournament around 5 a.m., leading to a massive police presence and traffic backups.

Players and officials were allowed into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club but Scheffler ran afoul of police officer Bryan Gillis, who directed Scheffler to stop and ended up arresting the golfer after he was said to not follow orders. Scheffler maintained he was not aware of the reason for the traffic issues.

Among the charges was a felony, second-degree assault of a police officer; Gillis alleged in his police report that Scheffler dragged him as he asked him to stop the car.

Subsequent video shows Scheffler being interviewed in a car by another officer and saying “he was hitting me with his flashlight” and while admitting he should have stopped, believed that Gillis was “overly aggressive.”

In a matter of minutes, Scheffler was arrested and handcuffed and taken to a local jail, where he awaited his fate. Tee times for the second round had been delayed due to the fatality, and Scheffler made it back to the course with less than an hour before he was to start, shooting 66 before falling out of contention on Saturday. He ended up tied for eighth.

Scheffler had a May 21 arraignment schedule and postponed until June 3 before Wednesday’s developments.

The golfer played in the Charles Schwab Challenge and tied for second. He is entered in next week’s Memorial Tournament and will play the following week at the U.S. Open.