Golf’s Most Shocking Stories of 2024: Scottie Scheffler Arrested at PGA Championship

The world No. 1 spent time in a downtown Louisville jail cell before his Friday round at the season’s second major.

Fans rallied behind Scheffler at the PGA Championship. / Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

As 2024 comes to a close, SI Golf’s writers and editors reflect on the year’s craziest stories.

After opening the PGA Championship with a 67, golf’s No. 1 player headed to Valhalla Golf Club in early Friday darkness. Scottie Scheffler’s Round 2 tee time wasn’t until 10:08 a.m. but—always steadfast in his routines—he wanted to get a workout in.

He ended up doing an abridged workout in a downtown Louisville jail cell.

Wait, what?

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That was the collective reaction around the sports world the morning of Friday, May 17, processing the news that the two-time Masters champion had been arrested. Scheffler, not aware of a horrible tragedy that unfolded some two hours earlier with the death of a pedestrian struck by a shuttle bus, had a misunderstanding with a Louisville police officer directing traffic at the entrance to the course and was subsequently detained and charged with a number of offenses including a felony.

Yet, at 10:08 a.m., Scheffler teed off. He had gone to the Jefferson County Jail in the back of a police car, was held for approximately 90 minutes, then went back to the course with a police escort and was greeted with a hero’s welcome. “Free Scottie” was the rallying cry and cheers rang out from the first tee to the first green—where Scheffler birdied after stuffing a wedge to 3 feet.

The entire morning was unlike anything ever seen in golf and should be remembered first for the life lost by someone going to work at the course. Scheffler would go on to shoot a remarkable 66 that Friday, all things considered, only to hit the proverbial wall in Round 3 with a 73 before a Sunday 65 to finish tied for 8th.

The charges against him were eventually dropped, and the entire episode became just a footnote on another PGA Tour Player of the Year season for the Texan. 

But what a Friday that was at the year’s second major. 

Bob Harig: There is no overstating how shocking the entire scenario was during the second round of the PGA Championship. The Masters champion whose wife just had the couple’s first child was in jail? A few hours before his tee time? And in the aftermath of the death of a pedestrian that caused all manner of traffic issues leading to an overzealous Louisville cop who had no business arresting him? The fact that Scheffler returned to put up a great score was remarkable in its own right. The fact that he ran out of gas on Saturday was fully understandable. Scheffler has handled the situation admirably, making a point to keep all in perspective as someone died that day.

Jeff Ritter: This was the year’s Shocking Story to End All Shocking Stories. The real tragedy of the morning – a worker being killed – was lost in the news of the World No. 1 being needlessly tossed in the clink. Scheffler’s arrest was ridiculous … and the type of episode that social media was invented for. It indeed delivered.

John Schwarb: This reminded me of June 6, 2023, when Twitter/X was buzzing with a stunning report of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers coming together. Those initial reports seemed impossible to believe until we saw Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan on a CNBC set—just like seeing ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington’s on-the-spot video. But Scheffler’s handling of the whole thing with pure class helped diffuse what could have been an uglier, longer episode, and Louisville will get another big-time golf tournament in 2028 with the Solheim Cup.