Scheffler arrest overshadows fiery PGA Championship opener by Schauffele

Tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler’s detention by police when he tried to drive past an unrelated traffic accident outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville and a delayed start to the second round overshadowed Xander Schauffele’s opening day pyrotechnics at the 106th PGA Championship on Friday.

According to ESPN, Scheffler crossed a police roadblock at the site of a fatal mishap involving a pedestrian and a ferry bus at the club’s gate but was pulled over and put in handcuffs before being taken away by members of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department. The accident had already delayed the second day’s proceedings by an hour and 20 minutes.

Masters champion Scheffler, had been hit with four charges including “second degree assault of a police officer”, and “reckless driving”, wave3.com reported. He has been booked and subsequently released and back at Valhalla, multiple reports said though it is not clear yet he will make the rescheduled 10.48 am (local time) second round start alongside Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman.

The Friday morning happenings put in the shade a tremendous performance by Tokyo Olympics champion Schauffele on Thursday who lead the tournament with a blistering 9 under par 62, which also equalled the record for a best 18-hole score at a major which he co-holds with Branden Grace of South Africa (The Open, 2017) and fellow-American Rickie Fowler (US Open, 2023).

Schauffele’s previous 9 under par score was at last year’s US Open, where he would finish in a tie for 10th place. But Thursday’s birdie-free round will have put the other pre-event favourites on notice and gave him a three-stroke lead over second placed Sahith Theegala, Mark Hubbard and Tony Finau with a group of five that included world number two Rory McIlroy and talented Korean Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim bunched together in shared fifth place.

Theegala, whose parents have their origins in erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh said after his round on Thursday, “I played really well. Didn't hit the ball exceptionally … but my short game, which I've struggled with a little bit this year, really came in clutch and kind of was my old self around the greens. Hit a lot of great pitches close to the hole.”

“I’ll take 62 in a major any day,” Schauffele told pgatour.com on Thursday. “It's a great start to a big tournament. One I'm obviously always going to take. I think I look at every tough spot now as another opportunity, try to flip it into a positive and make myself want to earn it versus getting scared of the moment.

“Just embrace it, and really earn it and all the hard work you’ve been doing is worth it. Kind of taking that mentality on. I have been putting myself in some really good spots, I’ve been playing really good golf and there are obviously times when you’ll get a little uncomfortable. And there were a few times where I was a little uncomfortable on Sunday, and my perspective on that is slowly changing a little bit.”

Scheuffele shot five birdies before the turn and added four more on his way back to the clubhouse backed by nine pars, hitting 12 of 14 fairways with his driver and sitting high on the strokes gained with the putter index as well after finding 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

Defending champion Brooks Koepka was tied for 12th place on 4 under 67 along with Scheffler and four others.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Kim equalled his career best score in a major championship with a 5-under 66 for a share of fifth place after a season which has so far gone without a top-10 from 13 starts.

“Great. I played really nice, really solid. Just to kind of get things going, second major championship of the year, and definitely put myself in a good position and just going through the same game plan for tomorrow,” said Kim, the best-placed Asian after day one of the year’s second major.

Making his debut at a major, fellow-Korean S.H. Kim had a solid 69 while 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was the only other Asian player who broke par with a 70. Byeong Hun An carded a level par 71.

Kim, who finished T8 and T2 at the U.S. Open and The Open Championship respectively last year, began with a 21-foot birdie before adding another on the seventh. He then edged up the leaderboard with a burst of three birdies over a four-hole stretch, with a lone bogey on 14 cancelled by a final birdie on 17 from five feet. He hit 13 fairways and was precise with his putter where he ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting.

“I was just going into the back nine with the same game plan and gave myself some good opportunities. Made some good putts coming in. Just overall has been really, really solid,” said Kim, who missed the cut in his three previous appearances at the PGA Championship.

“It's not always smiles. A lot of people see me smiling a lot but it's not always smiles, trust me. But you know, I just try to put on a good face and just try the best I can. More experience. More scar tissues definitely gets you a tougher player, and I've been playing really good golf. Just haven't really seemed to get things going, but to do this in a major championship shows me a lot more about myself and gives me more confidence,” said Kim, who was T30 at the Masters last month.