World number one golf player Scottie Scheffler charged with assaulting police officer

World number one golf player Scottie Scheffler charged with assaulting police officer

World number one Scottie Scheffler was released by police on Friday and arrived at the PGA Championship less than an hour before his second round tee time after being arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer en route to the tournament.

Masters champion Scheffler was detained in handcuffs after a misunderstanding of traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer and into the Valhalla Golf Club around 6:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), ESPN reported.

The start to the second round had been delayed due to what tournament organisers called a "serious accident" near Valhalla that forced a change to traffic patterns in the area.

"I think the officer that was directing traffic was maybe not part of the event traffic detail and so that's where the miscommunication arose," said Steve Romines, a local attorney hired on Scheffler's behalf.

According to an ESPN report a police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler's car and then the Masters champion stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla.

ESPN also said the police officer then yelled at Scheffler to get out of the car, and when he did he shoved the golfer against the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.

Scheffler was later charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer.

After arriving at Valhalla under a steady rain, Scheffler was greeted by plenty of encouragement from the fans and headed straight to the driving range.

Scheffler, who is seeking his fifth win in six starts and a second consecutive major, is five shots back of overnight leader Xander Schauffele and scheduled to begin his second round at 10:08 a.m. ET.