Charges against Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship

Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler on Wednesday, less than two weeks after the world's best golfer was arrested. stopped outside the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jefferson County Prosecutor Mike O'Connell told a judge his office cannot move forward with charges based on the evidence in the case.

Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to obey signals from officers directing traffic when he was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Louisville club, which hosted the tournament.

Scheffler's lawyer had denied that the golfer assaulted anyone. Scheffler called the incident a “very chaotic situation” and a “big misunderstanding” in a statement and said he “never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”

O'Connell said Wednesday that the evidence supported Scheffler's characterization of the incident as a misunderstanding between him and the detective who arrested him.

“Mr. Scheffler's actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offense,” O'Connell said in court.

Scheffler did not attend Wednesday's hearing.

Scheffler was on his way to the golf course early on May 17 to prepare for the second round when he ran into a traffic jam from a shuttle bus that fatally struck a pedestrian, according to police. As Scheffler attempted to drive around the scene, police alleged, he refused to comply with instructions and advanced, dragging the detective to the ground.

The detective's body camera was not activated at the time of the incident, violating police procedures, officials said last week.

Video footage from a pole camera and police dashcam showed Scheffler being led to a police car.

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