Scottie Scheffler’s arrest was shocking. What followed mattered most

The past 12 months had it all — crazy winning streaks, new major champs, a major-week arrest (!) and more. With 2025 on the horizon, our writers are looking back at the most memorable moments from 2024.

No. 15 — Charley Hull goes viral
No. 14 — LIV, LPGA CEOs say goodbye
No. 13 — Solheim Cup parking fiasco
No. 12 — Phoenix Open chaos
No. 11 — Lydia Ko’s Hall of Fame resurgence
No. 10 — PGA Tour-Saudi PIF merger stalemate
No. 9 – Keegan Bradley named Ryder Cup captain
No. 8 — Lexi Thompson stepped away
No. 7 — Xander Schauffele’s breakthrough
No. 6 — AK’s return to golf
No. 5 — Nelly Korda’s dominance
No. 4 — Bryson DeChambeau’s star turn
No. 3 — Scheffler’s mind-boggling season
No. 2 — Rory and Bryson’s epic U.S. Open

No. 1: Scottie Scheffler’s arrest

There’s a reason why we couldn’t believe our eyes in mid-May, as the Scottie Scheffler mugshot flickered across the internet on Friday morning of the PGA Championship. It wasn’t necessarily that the World No. 1 was pictured in an orange jumpsuit, nor that his tee time was quickly approaching. It was stunning that this specific human could end up behind bars. No one could believe that. 

The grounds of Valhalla Golf Club murmured with that shared disbelief, as a fog delay added to the ominous morning. The mentality in the locker room was just as ubiquitous: If there were 156 players in the field, you’d have chosen 155 other players to be in this position ahead of Scheffler. He is unquestionably one of the gentlest people in all of pro golf. 

So how did he get in that predicament? It’s possible you don’t even remember — a morning defined by increased police presence due to the accidental death of a tournament worker, creating what Scheffler called a “chaotic situation” — because in the weeks that followed, all charges were dropped. 

The internal investigation from the Louisville Metro Police Department reviewed limited but important video and audio of Scheffler’s actions that morning, and how he was whisked away from the gates of the championship. Scheffler was helped immensely by the cell phone video taken by ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who had risen before dawn for a morning TV hit, only to find himself at the center of the action.

At some point that weekend — likely between his second and third rounds — the gravity of what happened finally hit Scheffler. No matter how many jackets or medals or trophies he won, his mugshot was going to be the most popular image of the year.

Here at the end of 2024 — a year that featured nine wins from Scheffler, one of the all-time great seasons in pro golf history — the thought of Scheffler’s arrest carries on partly in jest. Many spectators have arrived at his events with that mugshot printed on their chest. But as that specific moment was forever hardened into the annals of golf history, it’s worth remembering what happened after.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scheffler shot a five-under 66 during the second round. But in the moments afterward, Scheffler spoke with his agent and his lawyer and then delivered a world-class press conference. He apologized for not being able to speak in specific detail and was thoughtful enough to mention the family of the PGA volunteer who had been struck and killed that morning by a shuttle bus. He was affable, thankful and forgiving. It had been a whirl of a day, but he was able to sit behind a microphone without malice and label it all a “big misunderstanding.” 

Twelve days later — after evidence had proven the police department could not prosecute the charges — Scheffler spoke eloquently about the ordeal again. He called it a “fairly traumatic” story he doesn’t love reliving. He elected to not pursue legal action, believing the tax dollars involved in such a case would cost Louisville residents for “the mistakes of their police department.”

“That just doesn’t seem right,” Scheffler said, a lesson to us all about vindictiveness.

In the end, that’s what Scheffler’s arrest became — a series of lessons for those of us who follow the sport the closest.

It was a mini campaign of resiliency, awareness and humility. It was an exercise in not immediately believing all that a photo represents. In trusting there is always context missing behind a screenshot. It was an exercise in the role of enforcement, but also the importance of surveillance. That day — and the investigation that followed — could have played out much differently had Darlington not woken up so early for ESPN. And it could have played out much differently had Scottie Scheffler not been Scottie Scheffler.