‘He’s the No 1 player in the world!’ – Footage of Scottie Scheffler arrest shows police shock – MASHAHER

Louisville police officers asked Scottie Scheffler how good he was at golf – before realising he was the world No 1 – and at the same time as arresting the golfer also probed him about the prowess of Tiger Woods.

Extensive bodycam footage has been released by the authorities and it adds a new level of absurdity to the saga that took place before the second round of the US PGA Championship last month. Scheffler was in handcuffs when answering the bizarre questions, with at least three officers being oblivious to his sporting excellence or his celebrity.

Scheffler had been attempting to circumvent traffic outside the course that was backed up because of an earlier traffic fatality. But as the Masters champion drove into the property, anxious to make his second-round tee-time, a detective issued instructions for him to stop.

Scheffler insisted he misunderstood, but Bryan Gillis accused him of accelerating away and “dragging” him along in the process, causing the officer to suffer cuts to his legs and wrists and tearing a hole in his trousers.

Scheffler was booked into a cell in the city’s police station on four charges, the most serious being second-degree assault of an officer, an offence that could have resulted in prison time.

The charges were eventually dropped last week, with Scheffler revealing here at the Memorial tournament that he would have sued if the case had gone to court.

‘I try not to drink too much before I play golf at 8am’

The 90-minute video begins with Scheffler being arrested and saying “damn, I just want to make my tee-time”. He is questioned if he has been drinking to which Scheffler replies: “I try not to drink too much before I play golf at 8am…”

Once in the police car, the queries come thick and fast. “So I assume you’re pretty good if you’re playing in the PGA?” the officer asks. “I’m all right, yeah,” Scheffler responds. The officer follows that with his Woods query  “Is Tiger as good as they say he is?” Scheffler confirms Woods is adept as his 15 majors suggest.

The officer returns to Scheffler’s career, questioning how long he has been playing and his game. “You’re 27 and you’re freaking playing in the PGA?” the officer says. Scheffler then informs them that he and wife had their first child the week before, and is congratulated.

When they arrive at the station, the penny at last drops. “I didn’t know you [are] the number one in the world right now,” the officer admits. “That’s why all the news was there.”

He then says to a colleague: “He’s the number one player in the world!”

“Who?” the other officer asks. “You’re too casual to be the number one player in the world,” Scheffler is told. “You should have had a driver.”

At the end of the video another officer asks him to confirm his surname. When told, the officer says. “Oh yeah, I saw you on the news this morning.”

The official police report detailed abrasion and bruises to his hands and wrists that saw Gillis hospitalised, and the report also listed the effect on his $80 uniform trousers that were “damaged beyond repair”.

But pictures released show a tear near the back pocket and also grazes on Gillis’s left shin and his wrist. The photos are anything but graphic, leaving Gillis and his employers open to further ridicule. While Scheffler says he is still scarred by the experience, it is difficult to envisage that Gillis is – in a physical sense, anyway.

Scheffler has yet to comment on these latest updates. And with good reason. A week before the US Open – where he will be clear favourite to win a third major – Scheffler went into the third round of this $20 million event here at Muirfield Village with a three shot lead, with Rory McIlroy six behind in the chasing pack.

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