Jefferson County, Kentucky, Attorney General Mike O’Connell announced at a hearing on Wednesday that all charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed. The charges stemmed from an incident at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville the morning of the PGA Championship’s second round.
“Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges against Mr. Scheffler. Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was quote, ‘a big misunderstanding,’ close quote, is corroborated by the evidence.
“The evidence we reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective [Bryan] Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s actions and evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.”
On the morning of Friday, May 17, Scheffler arrived at Valhalla for pre-round preparations. Traffic was being redirected at the course because of a fatal accident involving a pedestrian, and Scheffler was attempting to go around the backup and through the player’s entrance, as all players were instructed to do.
All players were driving identifiable cars with the expectation that they would be waved through. Instead, Det. Gillis attempted to stop Scheffler, and has maintained that he was dragged by the world’s No. 1 golfer.
In a statement released after the dismissal of all charges, Gillis stuck to his story.
“To be clear, I was drug by the car, I went to the ground, and I received visible injuries to my knees and wrist. I’m going to recover from it, and it will be ok. This is the extent of my commentary on the incident. The reality is that there are more important things in the world right now than a back-and-forth over this.”
Gillis also added in his statement, “Mr. Scheffler and I both agree that there will be no ill-will over this going forward.”
The charges were dismissed by the D.A. with prejudice, meaning they can’t be refiled.
A Busy June for Scheffler
Despite spending the morning of the second round at a police station in Louisville, and shooting his first over-par round of the year on Saturday, Scheffler finished the PGA Championship T8. The next week, at the Charles Schwab Challenge, he was T2. That made 10 straight top 10 finishes, and six times in those 10 tournaments that he finished no worse than second.
Scheffler is not at the Canadian Open this weekend (Rory McIlroy is the heavy favorite, paying +360). But he will be at the Memorial Tournament the following week for a final tune-up before the golf world descends on Pinehurst, North Carolina for the U.S. Open.
Along with Scheffler, the field at the Memorial will include 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, McIlroy, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, and Will Zalatoris.
At the U.S. Open, which begins June 13, Scheffler is the going-away favorite at +350. McIlroy is +1100, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele is +1200, and 2021 U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm is at +1400. Rahm has struggled in the two major championships this year, finishing T45 at the Masters and missing the cut at the PGA. But in his five U.S. Opens, he has finished T3, T23, Champion, T12, and T10.
In Scheffler’s last three U.S. Opens, he has finished T7, T2, and third. He’s finished in the top 10 in five of his last six major championships.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
