Scottie Scheffler took a long look at the scoreboard off the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club after finishing his final round at the PGA Championship on Sunday in Louisville, Ky.
A few minutes later after signing for his 6-under-par round of 65, Scheffler put his head on the scorer’s table and “about fell asleep.”
“I’m trying to figure out how quickly I can get home from here and, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I think I’m just fairly tired and ready to get home,” Scheffler said.
It had been 2 1/2 grueling days since Scheffler was arrested in the pre-dawn hours Friday, shortly after arriving at the golf course, and charged with felony assault of a police officer. He was released in time to make his second-round tee time and kept himself in contention with a 66.
However, the lack of sleep and a regular tournament routine caught up with Scheffler on Saturday. His PGA Tour record of 42 consecutive rounds of par or better was snapped with a 73.
Scheffler was out of serious contention by the time he teed off on Sunday, but the two-time Masters champion birdied six of his final 11 holes to post a 13-under 271 for the tournament and keep himself in the hunt for a top-10 finish.
“I think on the golf course, I’ve always been proud of my toughness out there,” he said after the round. “I love competing. I love trying to get the most of my game out here.
“I typically try to keep the off-course life as quiet as possible, and this week obviously was not that way, so was a bit different in that sense. But I’m proud of how (caddie) Teddy (Scott) and I went around this week and competed and (I) was able to post a decent finish towards the end of the week.”
“Kind of running on fumes.”
What comes next remains uncertain.
Scheffler was hopeful of returning home to Texas on Sunday night to be with wife Meredith and their newborn son, Bennett. However, he does have an arraignment scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET in Louisville. Scheffler faces four charges, which besides assault include third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
It’s uncertain if the charges will be dropped. Attorney Steve Romines, hired Friday to represent Scheffler, told the Louisville Courier Journal that the golfer “didn’t do anything wrong,” and Louisville police confirmed Saturday night that the body camera of a police officer who was allegedly “dragged to the ground” by Scheffler’s vehicle was not in operation.
The typically reserved Scheffler was followed by large galleries throughout the week, with chants of “free Scottie” ringing across the grounds.
“I did my best to leave that behind me and come out here and compete and do what I love, and the support I got from the fans was amazing,” he said. “I think they were cheering extra loud for me this week, and I got a lot of support from the players and caddies as well. A lot of people showing their support, a lot of players telling me how much they love me and stuff like that.
“I’m really grateful to have the community that we have out here and the support of the people inside the ropes for sure.”
Scheffler is also still in the field for next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I think it’s all up in the air. I’m not really sure what the next days have in store,” he said. “I think I’m able to get home tonight, but we’ll see when I leave here. I haven’t really had much chance to assess the situation off the course.
“As of now I’m planning to play next week. As far as the off-the-course stuff goes, I’m not really sure.”
–Field Level Media
