Chaos at Valhalla – Scottie Scheffler detained by the police after a traffic incident

World number one Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police for allegedly trying to avoid a traffic jam caused by a fatal crash near Valhalla.

The start of play in the second round of the US PGA Championship was delayed following an accident in which a pedestrian died after being struck by a bus, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Scheffler was trying to get to the course to prepare for his round when he was held up.

A photo of Scheffler was later released by the Metropolitan Louisville Department of Corrections, which later revealed he was released after an hour and 12 minutes.

According to ESPN, he was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to obey a traffic signal from an officer directing traffic.

Scheffler was shown arriving at the course just after 9am local time.

ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, said on air: “Traffic was backed up and building, Scottie Scheffler attempted to enter Valhalla Golf Club using a side median, at which point a police officer ordered him to pull over .

“Scheffler tried to keep going, then the police officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car.

“Scheffler stopped the vehicle as he turned into Valhalla Golf Club at the entrance, approximately 10 to 20 yards from the point where the trooper first told him to stop.

“At that point, the police officer instructed Scheffler to get out of the car.

“He rolled down the window, the policeman grabbed his arm and started shooting him. He reached in, opened the car door, pulled Scheffler out, pushed him against the car and immediately put him in handcuffs.”

Scheffler, who has won four of her last five events, competes at Valhalla after taking three weeks off while awaiting the arrival of her first child. His wife gave birth to Bennett’s son last week.

He made a remarkable start in the first round, dropping his second shot at the opening hole 167 yards for eagle, eventually carding a four-under 67.

That left him five shots behind compatriot Xander Schauffele, whose 62 tied for the lowest round in men’s major history.

LMPD previously released a statement regarding the traffic accident.

“At approximately 5:00 this morning, LMPD responded to a vehicle collision call involving a pedestrian and a bus,” the statement said.

“Our preliminary investigation has determined that an adult male pedestrian was crossing Shelbyville Road from south to north when he was struck by a bus traveling eastbound in the mandatory center bus lane.

“As a result, the pedestrian was fatally injured and was pronounced dead at the scene. The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating.”

The incident has led to speculation that Scheffler may not play the second round, although Sky Sports Golf pundit Dame Laura Davies hopes the decision on his participation remains his own.

The former women’s world number one also said it was “chaos” at Valhalla and believes the incident with Scheffler was a “real mistake”.

She said: “Hopefully if he doesn’t play it’s his decision because the whole pedestrian loss incident – it’s terrible for everyone involved in the PGA Championship this week. I hope not because he was detained by the police and can’t get here.

“It is an extraordinary situation. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t accept this as a real mistake. It was chaos. There were 50 police cars at the gate where we entered with our bus. You wouldn’t have known what you were doing at that moment.

“As golfers, you think, ‘Okay, I’ve got to get there, I’ve got my tee time.’ The delay had not been set at that time, so you need to get there as soon as possible.

“I’m sure I didn’t give him the ‘I’m Scottie Scheffler’ card.” He just wanted in. It was a real mistake and let’s hope common sense prevails.

“But if Scottie is upset enough about it, he doesn’t have to play, and that would be the only way I wouldn’t want to see him play today.”

Dame Laura added: “It’s one of those situations where only he knows if he can handle going and playing that golf course with everything that’s happened in the last two hours and being in a police station…

“He’s just got the new baby, he might just want to go home, see his wife, the new baby and draw a line under what happened to him – not the pedestrian that was hit, that’s obviously a completely separate issue.

“But let’s hope he plays. We want him to play.”

Fellow pundit Wayne Riley said some players questioned whether or not the day’s play should continue following the death.

Riley told Sky Sports Golf: “So many players have said to me, ‘I can’t believe they’re actually playing today.’ I get that vibe, I get a lot of vibes that people are like, “Somebody lost their life here today, Scottie was taken and it’s one of those, are we going on Monday?

“That’s not happening, we’re moving on to the second round of the PGA Championship.”