Schauffele leads, Scheffler struggles after wild day at PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Xander Schauffele led for the fifth time in his last six rounds. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was in contention with his 42nd consecutive round of even or better. Bryson DeChambeau worked his way into the mix with nine kickoffs over 300 yards.

By all accounts, this was just another day at the PGA Championship.

Not even close.

Not with Scheffler handcuffed before dawn in the back of a police car. Not with the second round delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to a fatal pedestrian bus accident right outside the gates of Valhalla. Not with a few fans dressed in orange jumpsuits and sold-out T-shirts that read in big letters: “Free Scottie.”

Most of golf, from Collin Morikawa’s five straight birdies to Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods not missing the cut, was a footnote on this strange Friday.

Scheffler, dressed a month ago in a green Masters jacket, was dressed in orange prison garb for a shooting when he was arrested for failing to follow police investigating the fatal crash.

“You felt like it was kind of a prank or something when you see a picture of Scottie,” Schauffele said after a 3-under 68 to lead Morikawa by one stroke on the weekend.

Scheffler was released from jail and returned to Valhalla with 56 minutes to spare before game time. He shot a 66 and was three shots back in his bid for a second straight major.

“I feel like my head is still spinning,” he said.

The world No. 1 player was driving to Valhalla around 6am when he ran into traffic, unaware that police were investigating a pedestrian – John Mills, who worked for a vendor at the tournament – who was hit and killed by a bus near the entrance. .

Scheffler was arrested for failing to comply with police instructions. The arrest report alleged that a Louisville Metro Police officer was dragged to the ground as Scheffler’s car drove by, causing swelling and abrasions to the officer’s left wrist. Scheffler said it was a “chaotic situation” and that he never intended to ignore police instructions. “A big misunderstanding,” he said.

“I can’t imagine what I’m going through. I feel for them,” he said of the victim’s family. “My situation will be resolved.”

Scheffler was handcuffed and taken into custody. He was able to see from the cell video of his arrest on ESPN. His heart was pounding and his body was shaking.

“I spent some time lying in a prison cell. It was a first for me,” Scheffler said. “I was sitting there waiting and I started going through my warm-ups. I felt like there was a chance I could come out here and play again. I started going through my routine and tried to get my heart rate down as I as much as I could today.

“I was lucky to be able to make it and play golf today.”

Not just any golf. He hit a 3-foot wedge for birdie on his first hole. He was solid from tee to green, made some putts and had a round that ranked among his best under the circumstances.

“As far as the best rounds of my career, I’d say that was pretty good,” Scheffler said. “I certainly never imagined I would ever end up in jail, and I certainly never imagined I would end up in jail the morning before one of my departure times.”

The long day finally ended in darkness with 18 players still on the field. They would return on Saturday morning to complete the second round. The cut would be at least 1 under par, the lowest in PGA Championship history.

Valhalla was soft and defenseless and almost no wind made it even easier.

Adam Svensson of Surrey, BC at 3-under, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC at 2-under and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., at 1-under all made the cut.

Schauffele bogged down at the end, making his first bogey on the par-3 11th hole. He missed a good birdie chance on the par-5 when he got mud on the golf ball, which explained why a good swing produced a wild hook in the hay.

“We’re professional golfers, we’re not professional mud readers,” Schauffele said. “So I was praying that the mud on my ball wasn’t going to do something and I felt like I made a really nice pass at it … and I look up and my ball is just hanging on the duck over the property.”

He was 12 under 130.

Morikawa challenged at the Masters and came back for more, and while his swing helps keep the ball in front of him, it’s his putting that makes him believe he can be there until the end.

“I know I still have it in me and that’s what’s exciting,” he said. “After Augusta, it was a bummer to finish like that and it was a bummer to lose to Scottie, but at the end of the day, I knew I had three more majors to come.”

Scheffler was at 133 with DeChambeau (65), Thomas Detry (67) and Mark Hubbard, who had three bogeys and three birdies in his final seven holes in a round of 68.

Hubbard drew attention early Friday with a post on X referencing Scheffler’s police report, including a 170-pound weight.

“Scottie’s bigger than me, there’s no way he’s 170,” Hubbard said after his round. “Like, I need to get into the gym and stop eating so much of my kids’ leftover mac and cheese.”

But then he turned serious, as did many other players, expressing shock at seeing Scheffler in handcuffs and sadness for Mills, the 69-year-old victim.

“I thought the saddest part was that the whole thing was about Scottie being arrested and all that – and like I said, I’m glad he’s doing well and everything – but I mean somebody died this morning and I was there. I bet 90 percent of the people here don’t even know it happened.

“It’s not Scottie’s fault at all, but that was the real tragedy today.”

Austin Eckroat, who won his first PGA Tour title earlier this year at the Cognizant Classic, got out of his car in traffic and walked the rest of the way. His wife took the car and later returned. He carded another 67 and was in the group at 8-under 134.

“I stopped the local news station trying to figure out what was going on and the first thing I saw was Scottie had been put in handcuffs,” Eckroat said. “And I said, ‘What the hell is going on?’ It was a strange morning.”

The only normality was golf. Schauffele is still going strong. Morikawa continues to approach the form that brought him two majors. And Scheffler still looks like the player to beat.

“I’ve held my own in the tournament now with a pretty chaotic day, so I’m going to go from here and focus on rest and recovery and get ready for a grind the last couple of days,” Scheffler said.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Doug Ferguson, Associated Press