Scottie Scheffler is in Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament this week, the first event he will play since Louisville Police dropped the four charges levied against him.
He took last week off to rest and spend time with his young family, which now includes his son, Bennett, who entered the world on May 8.
But despite feeling refreshed before this week’s Signature Event, Scheffler explained how he has not moved past the incident that transpired at the PGA Championship on the early morning of Friday, May 17.
“I would say that I wouldn’t have a hundred percent moved past it because the charges are dropped, but now it’s almost more appropriate for people to ask me about it and ask me about the situation and, to be honest with you, it’s not something that I love reliving, just because it was fairly traumatic for me being arrested going into the golf course,” Scheffler explained Tuesday.
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“It’s not something that I love talking about, and it’s something that I’m hoping to move past, but when the charges are dropped, that’s only the beginning of getting past it, if that makes sense. So, I’m operating through that now. It was definitely a bit of a relief, but not total relief because that’s something that will always, I think, stick with me. That mug shot, I’m sure, is not going anywhere anytime soon.”
The image of Scheffler standing in an orange jumpsuit immediately went viral, as fans even showed up to Valhalla wearing t-shirts with the mugshot printed across their chests.
However, six days after his arrest, Louisville Police released video footage of the incident, which appeared to show Scheffler doing nothing wrong. He labeled the incident a “big misunderstanding,” which corroborates with the video evidence. Nevertheless, the officer who detained Scheffler did not have his body camera activated during what was a hectic and tragic morning outside of Valhalla.
Yet, Scheffler did not disparage anyone nor show any sign of frustration during the incident and immediately after his second round—just hours after his mugshot exploded online. The same sentiments rang true on Tuesday, as Scheffler wants to put this whole ordeal to rest.
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“I did not want to pursue legal action against Louisville because, at the end of the day, the people of Louisville are going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department, and that just doesn’t seem right,” Scheffler said.
“So, at no point did I ever want to sue them, but if it came up, I think my lawyer was more than prepared to use that as more of a bargaining chip-type thing.”
With all of this in the rearview mirror, Scheffler can now focus on his faith, his young family, and his golf game, which is the best in the world.
Still, while continuing to reflect on this entire ordeal, Scheffler provided a lesson about forgiveness. He will pass this on to his son one day, and it’s a lesson that all of us can learn from, too.
“I try to believe that people are innocent until proven guilty. Just because somebody’s accused of something doesn’t mean that they actually did it, or maybe they did do it, and maybe they just made a mistake,” Scheffler said.
“I think forgiveness is something that’s lost in our society, and just because somebody made a mistake at one point in their life doesn’t mean that they’re a bad person. I think sometimes in society, people expect perfection out of everybody, and just because somebody makes one mistake, people will crucify them for that. I’ve never really believed in that. I believe in forgiveness, I believe in grace, and I try to give that out as much as possible because of how much grace I’ve been given.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
