Tag: Scheffler

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.

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“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.

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Top ranked Scottie Scheffler offers critique of PGA Tour playoff format, concedes it's 'made for TV'

The opening round of the Tour Championship tees off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Thursday. Scottie Scheffler, the current world No. 1 ranked pro golfer, will begin the round with a 2-stroke edge. 

The Tour Championship utilizes a staggered-scoring format, but Scheffler seems to believe the PGA Tour can find a different way to determine its season-long champion.

“I wouldn’t say that it is the best format to identify the best golfer for the year,” Scheffler said Wednesday.

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The tour’s season-long winner claims the right to a multi-million dollar bonus.

“Jon Rahm played some of the best golf of anybody this year and he’s coming into this tournament fourth and he’s 4 shots back. And, in theory, he could have won 20 times this year and he would only have a 2-shot lead.”

Scheffler victories have yielded 4,218 FedEx Cup points — significantly more than fellow golfers Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy.

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Hovland will start the Tour Championship at eight under, while McIlroy will tee off at seven under.

Brian Harman won the Open Championship this year and heads to East Lake at four under, while the rest of the field will begin at three under to even.

Scheffler said he is well aware that the playoff format makes sense for television.

“I mean, I get it,” Scheffler said. “It’s made for TV. It may be more exciting for the fans to have this type of format. But as players I think it’s not the best identifier of who is playing the best throughout the year. But with that being said, I’m starting this week with a 2-shot lead and, I mean, I’m not complaining about it.

“It’s pretty nice. And we’re playing for a lot of money this week, and I’m very grateful for that. But as far as identifying the best player throughout the year, I don’t think it’s the best format.”

McIlroy trailed Scheffler by 11 strokes last season, but he went on to win the Tour Championship — the third of his career. It also marked McIlroy’s most significant win significant victory since the 2019 Players Championship.

McIlroy offered a different perspective on the current playoff format saying he believes it provides a leg up to players who have performed well.

“I do like it this way,” McIlroy noted.

 “I think it gives the guys that have had the better years an advantage going into the week, which I think they should have. If anything, Scottie this year, he probably should have more of an advantage than a 2-shot lead. But it makes it an exciting week, you know, if guys feel like they have a chance to win. Of all the iterations of the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs, I think this is the best one yet.”