Scottie Scheffler puts dramatic arrest behind him to stay in the hunt for $3.15M prize at PGA Championship with stunning second round

Scottie Scheffler threw off the shackles to remain in contention for PGA Championship glory - just hours after his dramatic arrest on Friday morning.

The world No 1 was taken to jail on a string of charges - including a felony charge of assaulting a police officer - after being arrested outside the gates of Valhalla. He is accused of 'refusing to comply', having attempted to pull into the course before dragging a police officer to the ground 

Scheffler was booked - wearing an orange jumpsuit - before racing back to Valhalla in time for his 10am tee time. Somehow, despite all the turbulence, he made six birdies to finish on -9 and climb up to third on the leaderboard.

The 27-year-old carded a second-round 66, making only a single bogey along the way, to put himself two shots off leader Collin Morikawa heading into the weekend.

He left the course to huge applause - high-fiving fans including one who wore a t-shirt which read: 'Free Scottie'.

Scottie Scheffler threw off the shackles to remain in contention for PGA Championship glory

The 27-year-old carded a second-round 66, making only a single bogey along the way

Scheffler was booked - wearing an orange jumpsuit - before racing back for his 10am tee time

The world No 1, 27, was earlier taken to jail, with a mugshot released via the Louisville Department of Corrections. He was charged with the following: 

• Second-degree assault of a police officer

• Third-degree criminal mischief

• Reckless driving

• Disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic

The incident occurred as the second round of the PGA Championship was delayed Friday due to a fatal accident near the club. 

At 5:09am on Friday, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a shuttle bus outside the golf course. Scheffler was not involved in the accident but he was caught in a massive traffic backup around Valhalla.

Afterwards, Scheffler sent his condolences to the victim and detailed how the 'huge misunderstanding' left him 'rattled' and shaking with shock. 

'I feel like my head's still spinning. I can't really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell - that was the first for me,' he said. 

'I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today... I took a few holes to feel normal.'

The American swapped an orange jumpsuit for his Nike golf gear in time for his round

Scheffler detailed how the 'huge misunderstanding' left him 'rattled' and shaking with shock

The world No 1 paid tribute to the officer who took him to jail. 'We had a nice chat in the car that kind of helped calm me down. I was sitting there waiting to go in and I asked him: "Can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?"' he said.

'When I was sitting in the holding cell, there was a TV there and I could see myself on the TV, on ESPN... in the corner it showed the time and said they were delayed. I was thinking about my tee time.'

Earlier, a panicked Scheffler could be heard asking eyewitnesses, 'can you please help me?' as he was led towards a police car. In Kentucky, second-degree assault is a Class C felony which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. 

Shortly after 10am on Friday, however, Scheffler was back out on the course in search of more major glory. He opened with two birdies in the first three holes before picking up four more shots at Valhalla.

He made six birdies to finish on -9 and climb up to a tie of third on the leaderboard

'I never imagined ever going to jail... I was grateful to be able to go out there and compete'

He left the course to cheers, high-fiving fans including one whose shirt read: 'Free Scottie'

The officer involved in Friday's incident was taken to the hospital after suffering 'pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee.'

It is said that police attempted to stop Scheffler, only for him to 'accelerate forward'. That led to an officer attaching himself to Scheffler's car. The world No 1 then drove around another 10 yards before stopping. 

The officer is then said to have grabbed at Scheffler, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler opened the door. He was then dragged out of the vehicle, pushed up against it and placed in handcuffs.

He made it back to Valhalla in time for a short warm-up before teeing off alongside Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. Scheffler insisted afterwards that Friday ranked among the best rounds of his remarkable career,

'It was nice to be able to get inside the ropes and do what I love to do,' he continued. 'I've kept myself in the tournament now with a pretty chaotic day.'

He added: 'I definitely never imagined ever going to jail... I was grateful to be able to go out there and compete.'