Scottie Scheffler offers sympathies to Mills family, believes arrest situation will be handled quickly

There was quite a chaotic situation ongoing outside of the Valhalla Golf Club in the early hours of Friday morning. Louisville native John Mills lost his life at age 69 when he was struck by a shuttle bus while crossing Shelbyville Road around 5:00 a.m. ET. One hour later, world No. 1 player Scottie Scheffler was arrested by Louisville Metro Police and charged with a felony.

Scheffler was then booked just after 7:00 a.m. ET and released just after 8:30 a.m. ET. The two-time Masters champion returned to Valhalla Golf Club and fired a five-under 66 on Friday and currently sits near the top of the leaderboard.

The 27-year-old spoke with media members at Valhalla after finishing his golf round. In Scottie Scheffler’s opening statement, he gave his condolences to the Mills family before addressing his arrest.

“My sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Mills. I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. One day, he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament, and a few moments later, he’s trying to cross the street, and now he’s no longer with us,” Scheffler said in his opening remarks. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I feel for them. I’m sorry.”

“My situation will get handled. It was just a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding. I can’t comment on any of the specifics of it.”

Scottie Scheffler told reporters that he “can’t really explain what happened” in the event that caused his arrest other than calling the situation a misunderstanding multiple times. The professional golfer believes the issue will get resolved fairly quickly. Scheffler did note that he did not know that traffic was backed because of a fatality.

“I didn’t really have an understanding of what had transpired this morning. My main focus after getting arrested was wondering If I could be able to come back out here and play,” said Scheffler. “Fortunately, I was able to do that.”

Scottie Scheffler gave thanks to law enforcement in his press conference crediting both the officer who transported him from the scene and the personnel who booked him for helping him calm down. Scheffler reported that he was shaking for an extended period of time after the incident occurred and needed some time to calm down. Once in his cell, Scheffler did some stretches to get ready for the PGA Championship.

“I was never angry, I was just in shock. I think my body was just shaking the whole time,” said Scheffler. “I was shaking for like an hour.”

“I can’t really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me.”

Scottie Scheffler never thought he wouldn’t play on Friday once released from jail and never dropped his name after the incident that caused his arrest. A court date for Scheffler is scheduled for Tuesday morning.