Entering the Memorial Day holiday, Scottie Scheffler still faced a court date next week in Louisville, Kentucky, but the criminal case against the world’s top-ranked golfer is showing signs of weakness.
Scheffler’s arrest last week at the scene of a fatal traffic incident near the site of the PGA Championship has triggered an investigation within the Louisville (Kentucky) Metro Police Department and the promise of “transparency” from Mayor Craig Greenberg. The arresting officer, Bryan Gillis, was reprimanded for not having activated his body-worn camera, which was a violation of department rules, the Courier Journal newspaper reported. It’s merely the latest in a series of disciplinary actions taken against Gillis since 2010, according to an NBC News report.
Meanwhile, video from two other onsite sources – a 55-minute dash-cam video and a four-minute video from a fixed pole – do not show Gillis being dragged by Scheffler’s car as alleged in the arrest filing, local media reported, and “continues to support what Scottie said all along,” his attorney, Steven Romines of Louisville, told local media.
Scheffler is facing four charges relating to the incident in the pre-dawn hours May 17 on U.S. 60, known locally as Shelbyville Road, while he was driving to Valhalla Golf Club. He was jailed and charged with second-degree assault on a law-enforcement officer, a Class C felony in Kentucky punishable by 5-10 years in prison, plus three misdemeanor offenses when police allege that he tried to drive around traffic caused by a fatal accident to get into the club’s entrance. Scheffler was released without bail on his own recognizance, and made his tee time, which, like the other second-round times, was delayed by 80 minutes because of the traffic snarl after a tournament volunteer was struck and killed by a bus.
Scheffler’s initial court appearance was delayed by two weeks, until June 3.
Should the case proceed, Scheffler will plead not guilty at his arraignment, said Romines, who vowed not to accept a plea deal. READ MORE
Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images
The pathway into the 124th U.S. Open will narrow June 3 after play at 10 final qualifying sites across the U.S. and Canada. The first three of the 13 final qualifiers were held last Monday in England, Japan and the U.S.
Also, 30 players were granted exemptions via top 60 on May 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking to the U.S. Open, to be played June 13-16 at Pinehurst (North Carolina) Resort’s No. 2 course, the USGA announced. READ MORE
Nearly 5 million viewers tuned in to the final round of the PGA Championship on May 19, up 10 percent from last year’s PGA, Sports Media Watch reported. The on-course performance by Xander Schauffele, who edged Bryson DeChambeau with a birdie on the final hole, and the ongoing off-course drama involving world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s arrest two days earlier averaged 4.96 million viewers for CBS, with a peak of 8.42 million for the winning putt. It was the second week in a row that the PGA Tour received improved TV ratings after a season of double-digit declines amid an erosion of talent to LIV Golf and the stalemate in negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. READ MORE
Japan’s Ryosuke Kinoshita won the Japan Golf Tour’s Mizuno Open to earn a place in the Open Championship via the R&A’s Open Qualifying Series. South Korea’s Guntaek Koh and Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa also earned spots in the 152nd Open, which will be played July 18-21 at Royal Troon in Scotland. READ MORE
Two-time RBC Canadian Open winner Rory McIlroy and defending champion Nick Taylor, whose dramatic 72-foot eagle putt on the final hole delivered the national title to a Canadian for the first time in 69 years, headline the field for this week’s Canadian Open. Play in the $9.4 million event begins Thursday at Hamilton (Ontario) Golf and Country Club. READ MORE
TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ontario, will host the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, Golf Canada and the PGA Tour announced. READ MORE
Jon Rahm surged in a world ranking, and his missed cut at the recent PGA Championship had no effect on his ascent.
Rahm, a vocal critic of LIV Golf’s exclusion from the Official World Golf Ranking since signing with the rival tour late last year, ranked No. 2 in the latest Forbes magazine listing of the world’s richest athletes. Rahm, 29, of Spain, made an estimated $218 million in combined on- and off-course earnings in the past 12 months, ranking behind only soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Forbes calculated. No. 19 Rory McIlroy, No. 23 Tiger Woods, No. 29 Scottie Scheffler and No. 43 Cameron Smith were the only other golfers listed among Forbes’ top 50.
Rahm, who rose to No. 1 in the OWGR upon winning the 2023 Masters, didn’t fare so well in golf’s world order as he dropped two spots last week, to No. 7. READ MORE
Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, will stage LIV Golf’s $50 million, 13-team season finale on September 20-22, the tour announced.
Maridoe, a 2017 Steve Smyers design in the suburbs north of Dallas, can stretch to 7,800 yards. It will be a home game of sorts for Bryson DeChambeau, who played at nearby Southern Methodist, resides in Grapevine and captains the Crushers GC team that is LIV’s defending champion. READ MORE
TAP-INS
American Lilia Vu will not play in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Country Club because of an ailing back. Vu, 26, a four-time winner last year, including the Chevron and AIG Women’s Open titles, has not competed since late March. For the field list and viewing information, click HERE and HERE.
Kris Kim, the emerging British teenage amateur who debuted on the PGA Tour three weeks ago with a 65th-place finish at the CP Cup Byron Nelson, will play his first professional event in his home country this summer. Kim, 16, has accepted a sponsor exemption to the Betfred British Masters, to be held August 29-September 2 at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon