Scottie Scheffler praises police for being 'our protectors,’ describes interactions with them while in custody

Scottie Scheffler was in unfamiliar territory early Friday morning, as he was arrested en route to the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The ordeal had Scheffler feeling “pretty rattled, to say the least,” and he admitted it took him a “few holes” to feel somewhat normal again.

But in a somewhat ironic twist (he is facing a felony charge of second-degree assault on a police officer), the officers who were involved in placing Scheffler in custody wound up playing a role in calming him down.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

“The officer that took me to the jail was very kind, he was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down. I was sitting there waiting to go in, and I asked him, I was like ‘Can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?…’” Scheffler said after his round. (He even joked that he had been stretching in a jail cell.)

“The officers inside the jail were tremendous.”

Scheffler even said he was the butt of some jokes made inside the jail “when they figured out who I was and what happened and how I ended up there.”

“This one older officer looked at me when I was doing my fingerprints and looks at me and goes ‘Do you want full experience today?’ I looked at him and go, ‘I don’t know how to answer that.’ He was like ‘Come on man, do you want a sandwich?’ I was like ‘sure, I’ll take a sandwich. I didn’t eat breakfast yet.’ They were really kind.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER DAZZLES IN SECOND ROUND OF PGA CHAMPIONSHIP HOURS AFTER ARREST

“I’m thankful that we have such strong police. They’re our protectors out there. We just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was.”

Scheffler was detained at 6:01 a.m. ET and released just over two-and-a-half hours later, and arrived at Valhalla another half hour after that, 56 minutes before his tee time.

Starting on the back nine, the reigning Masters champion naturally birdied 10 to start the day. He followed with a bogey on 11 but responded with a birdie on 12.

After five-straight pars, he then ripped off four birdies in his next eight holes.

He finished the round two shots back of the lead, as Collin Morikawa rattled off five straight birdies at a point to head into the clubhouse at -11; Scheffler was -4 after the first round.

Scheffler was booked into the Louisville Department of Corrections later Friday. He was also charged with criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

'Our country needs help': Americans in nation's biggest blue city grade President Biden's performance

Americans in the Big Apple offered lackluster grades for President Biden’s performance as he campaigns for re-election, with many citing the economy as a primary concern.

“Our country needs help,” Verdena from Nebraska told Fox News, awarding the president a failing grade. “And he’s not working for our country.”

DEMS DISMISS ‘WORTHLESS’ CALLS TO PROBE BIDEN-UKRAINE RUMORS BUT ARGUE TRUMP INDICTMENT IS NOT POLITICAL

“The economy could be a little bit better,” Susan from New York said, citing high inflation. “But there are other things I do agree with. So it’s kind of like passable but not exceptional.” She gave the president a C.

A Quinnipiac University poll published Wednesday showed Biden with a 42% approval rating. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat challenging the president’s re-election bid, had a 31% approval, but 43% said they weren’t familiar enough with him.

Among Biden’s potential Republican challengers in the 2024 race, former President Trump’s approval was 37% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ was 33%. The remainder were at 25% or below.

“I think he’s done a really good job of handling the Russia-Ukraine situation,” said Matt, giving the president a B-plus. “But domestically, there’s been some issues socially and economically that I haven’t been too happy with.”

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

Richard from Nebraska was less forgiving of economic issues, giving Biden a flat F grade.

Biden has just 33% approval when it comes to economic issues, according to a poll released last month by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center (AP-NORC) at the University of Chicago. Americans polled also doubted the president’s ability to handle gun policies and immigration, at 31% for both issues.

“He has screwed up our fuel prices,” Richard said. “He’s screwed up the environment, the territory, the border. He’s not doing his job. He’s too old.”

Former White House physician and current Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson raised flags over Biden’s health earlier this month on Fox News Channel’s ‘Hannity.’ Jackson said the president is “not fit mentally or physically” after he fell on stage during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

To hear more of Americans’ thoughts on Biden’s performance, click here.